Via Steve Kemp's list of static-site generators, I've just learned about the node.js-based Yeoman and Ruby- and Sinatra-based Middleman.

Kemp -- also the developer of the Chronicle Blog Compiler -- is using his own Templer system.

Keep track of all Steve's development on his GitHub page, which I'm putting here more for me than for you.

I don't have time to look too deeply into this, but if you love the idea of analog synthesizers with gobs of patch cords going from one module to another, you may love vModSynth. Just look at the screenshot above (click it for a full-size view).

As developer Rafał Cieślak says:

vModSynth allows you to play with a modular synth on your computer. You are free to choose any modules you wish, you can connect them however you want, and you will hear the result immediately. The synthesizer intentionally resembles the look of a modular synthesizer (I was inspired by modules manufactured by synthesizers.com), and it imitates behavior of one.

While I continue to use Gmail for my work e-mail -- a decision enforced by my employer's move to Google Apps for Business, I've been seeking solutions for my personal e-mail that include less back-end effort and more flexibility on my part -- plus no spying/marketing in exchange for the service.

My chief concerns:

• I don't want to manage a full mail-server system
• I don't want Google/Yahoo/other spying on me and marketing to me on the basis of my e-mail's content
• I do want webmail -- I'm tired of client applications on the desktop

The third point in this list means that while I maintain a Mozilla Thunderbird (or in my case the Debian-rebranded Icedove) mail client on my Linux desktop, I'd much rather use webmail day to day and only use a desktop client application for occasional archiving.

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Webmail isn't just a Gmail/Yahoo Mail/Hotmail thing. Anybody with a mail server can offer webmail to their users. There are a number of different client applications out there, but my favorite is Roundcube, which I use with my shared-hosting account from Hostgator.

Just today I noticed that Roundcube got a nice new look that coincides with a new release of the platform.

It's nice, to be sure. I love the look and functionality of Roundcube. But what I'd really like in Roundcube is the ability to create and deploy filters. It's on the roadmap. With filters, I really could leave Gmail behind.

I know that Horde offers a filtering option, and I probably should give it a try. But I really like Roundcube ...

I haven't used OwnCloud much over the past few months. And I let my installation get old.

I just did an upgrade from 3.0.2 to 4.5.0 in a single operation. OwnCloud is complicated: The update consists of 4,562 files.

Once the files transferred, the system didn't work. But the fix was easy: OwnCloud 4.5.0 requires PHP 5.3. My shared hosting account defaults to PHP 5.2. PHP 5.3 must be called in the .htaccess file. I was doing that in version 3.0.2, but part of my upgrade included a new .htaccess file from OwnCloud.

I went into .htaccess, added my hosting provider's recommended code to invoke PHP 5.3, and OwnCloud 4.5.0 began working immediately.

One of the things about 4.5.0 that I'm most excited about is the ability to upgrade OwnCloud from within the application itself. Sure beats transferring 4,562 files over FTP.

We're in the middle of the git-isation of all things digital. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm somewhat on board. I have a Gitorius account. That's about as far as I've gotten.

Here's an interesting article: Manage your website through git by Debian Developer and GNOME contributor Andrea Veri.

It's been in the works for a while, promised but not yet delivered, now promised again for Oct. 30, 2012: The Lightworks video-editing software is coming to Linux, specifically to Ubuntu 12.04 (and perhaps others after that).

Having really never heard of Lightworks, which the OMG!Ubuntu post above says was used to edit such professional films as "The King's Speech" and "Hugo." The project was open-sourced in 2010, and there is already a Windows build available. I'm somewhat excited by that prospect in itself, as I haven't yet come up with a Windows video-editing workflow/application that I can both use myself and recommend to others.

You can bet I'll be trying this out asap and waiting for the Linux version. If it only runs on Ubuntu, a video-editing app that can really get the job done is enough for me to choose my OS accordingly. That's a big "if." I'll have to get some actual time in front of Lightworks before I can make any judgments.

Update: I only have this problem with the Chrome/Chromium menu while running the GNOME 3 desktop environment. In Xfce, everything is fine.

The original entry starts here:

I guess I should file a bug report against Chromium in Debian Wheezy about the following:

When I go into the menu in either Chromium or Google Chrome (yes, I have both) and try to edit the bookmarks, the browser crashes. So I can't re-arrange my bookmarks in these two browsers.

FYI, re-arranging bookmarks in Firefox/Iceweasel not only works but is extremely intuitive: You can drag/move bookmarks right in the bookmarks menu -- no need to go to a special bookmarks-editing screen to change the order of a bunch of bookmarks. Thanks, Mozilla!

Firefox in CentOS (and by extension Stella) right now is version 10.0.x. I wondered why.

Well, it's because those very-long-term support distros are using the Extended Support Release of Firefox. Read more about ESR here, here and here, and if you want to try the ESR version of Firefox, start here.

Since the GIMP edits JPEG images superbly but obliterates their IPTC metadata captions, and gThumb, my main image editor of the past three years, outputs horrible resized images in version 3.0.1 in Debian Wheezy, I need a new image editing application.

And did I say that I need it now?

I go through many dozen images a day. Shrinking. Cropping. Recaptioning.

The software needs to work.

Yesterday I set up Wine the non-emulator, whatever-it-is Windows-compatible environment in Linux that enabled me to install and run the IrfanView image editor/viewer.

Not that other choices don't exist. There is the KDE app DigiKam.

And a little searching brought me to an app I always meant to try: Fotoxx.

It's in Debian, so I installed it. After a lengthy indexing of my appointed directories, I dug in and started working on photos.

Quality of resized images is great. It will be even better when I tweak the sharpen settings just right.

I can edit IPTC caption data, and though it's a bit awkward, also the byline field.

I wouldn't call it a speedy app, but so far it is getting the job done. With a little practice, I just might have a new photo-editing app.