Wow! What a way to start the New Year.
Started out in ashes but ended up like the rise of the Phoenix.
Day after New Years I turned on my computer. It powered on then off. Turned it on again. Powered off.
What!???
Time to troubleshoot it. First thing I did was disconnect all my drives, Ram and video card.
Tried powering it on. Few seconds later it powered off. Only thing left is the power plug on the motherboard for the cpu. Disconnected the connector and turned on the computer.
Powered on and cpu and case fans spun up and continued spinning. Hmmm??
Turned it off, disconnected the power supply and did voltage tests on it. Tested good.
That meant either the motherboard or cpu was shorted out.
To old to update it. It was a cheap closeout combo I bought online about 3 years ago.
A micro-atx motherboard with a 3.0 Ghz single core AMD Sempron cpu and 512 Megs of DDR Ram.
It was only a matter of time until it died. Unfortunately it happened right after the holidays.
Made a few phone calls to get a loaner until I could order new parts. Here's where the story really begins.
Got a loaner motherboard and cpu. I was using an AMD setup. This was an Intel based motherboard with a 3.0 Ghz Dual Core cpu and 512 Megs of DDR2 Ram. What's going to happen to my Linux install or the XP I have installed on a small slave drive that I use when helping people still using XP?
Time to find out.
I picked up the loaner board. I must make a note here that the heatsink mounts on Intel cpu's is very cheesy and cheap. Reason I say this is because the heatsink had been removed and I had to redo the heatsink thermal compound then mount the heatsink. Put the loaner board in my case and fired it up.
Booted into Linux and held my breath.
Linux starts it's normal boot up routine but just before it boots in to the desktop it sits on the splash screen. Uh-Oh! But another 30 seconds later it finishes the boot and there is my desktop. I check everything out including the network card. It all works!
No downloading drivers or uninstalling old ones. Linux reconfigured itself during the boot to use the new hardware it found. Amazing.
For fun I restarted and booted from the grub menu into XP. That didn't fair to well.
Blue screened with a Unexpected Kernel Mode Trap. Oh well! I didn't expect anything less. LMAO!!
No big loss. Going to eventually run XP in Virtual Box anyway.
So I reboot back into Linux.
Meanwhile I ordered a new Asus AM3 socket mobo, AMD 2.8 Ghz Dual Core cpu and 2 Gigs of DDR3 1333 Ram. It arrived yesterday and I installed it last night. That meant removing the Intel board and installing a new AMD board with a dual core cpu. How will Linux fair with this 2nd change in under a week?
Got everything installed and powered it up. Linux boots up and gets to the last part of the splash screen before the desktop. Sits there for about 20 seconds and there is my desktop and all my software.
Totally amazing. What's more amazing is that it found the 7.0 surround sound audio chip and network adapter chip both of which are built into the motherboard. And for once my 5.1 surround sound speakers work properly in Linux.
Again I had to do nothing for all my hardware to be installed or configured. No installing drivers, no reinstalling OS, no nothing other then boot up and get ready to use it.
As for the new hardware performance?
Fast!!! As in extreme speed.
When I originally bought the AM3 socket mobo I had plans to possibly update to a quad core later in the year. Forget that! This dual core is more then sufficient.
The only thing I will need to upgrade is my power supply. I have 2 brand new Sata hard drives waiting to be installed but my power supply only has 2 Sata power connectors on it which are already in use. I looked at the price of IDE to Sata power adapters but the price of 4 of them including shipping is about 35% of a new good quality 600 watt power supply. It's not the price of the cables that they get you on. It's the S&H charges that kill you.
So from the ashes the Phoenix has risen. It's my new pc that is now flying with jet engines instead of propellers.
I plan to do some stress testing on the new hardware by trying some video conversions and rendering some Blender 3D scenes.
Catch you later if I don't overshoot this page.
LOL!!
It turned out to be a Happy New Year after all.
TaZMAn
Friday, January 8, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
JDownloader - An Excellent File Downloader
Need a good tool for downloading files from Rapidshare, Megaupload or other file sharing sites?
Try a program called jDownloader. It's free and because it's written in Java, it's not platform dependent.
That means it will run in Linux, Windows, Mac or any other OS that has Java installed.
You can go to the site found here;
http://jdownloader.org/home/index
Download the installer that matches your OS. You will also need the Java Runtime jre installed.
If you have Ubuntu you can get it through the repositories. Other OS's can get it from Sun's website here;
http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp
When you unzip the downloaded file in Ubuntu you will have a folder with many files in it.
The one you want to use is the one named jDownloader.jar
Right click on it and select Java Runtime Environment as the launcher.
You will be greeted with a configuration screen. It will also ask if you want to install apt-get in your Firefox browser so it will automatically grab the links you selected and add them to the link grabber section of jDownloader.
I'm not going to provide support for this software. That can be found in their forums.
What I will provide is some basic info to make your life easier.
If you don't have a premium membership to Rapidshare or any other file share site make sure you set the number of maximum connections for each site to 1.
You may also set your maximum simultaneous downloads to 1.
You also have the option to set your download speed plus many other options although the above are the most important.
Below is a screen shot of my linkgrabber screen. It has all the links for my 20 in 1 multiboot DVD ready to be added into the download section.
So what can jDownloader do for you?
It can automatically grab selected links and add it into your linkgrabber screen ready to be downloaded immediately or later on.
No need to sit and wait in between downloads because of mandatory wait times. This software does it for you! It also grabs the captcha codes like at Megaupload and puts them in for you.
And after the download is finished, it extracts the file from the rar or zip file.
It also has the ability to download protected links like those being circulated in several forums.
JDownloader supports hundreds of file sharing sites.
You cannot believe how much this software improves life for non-subscribers of file sharing sites.
I add the links and start it before leaving for work and depending on the size of file and speeds, it is usually done by the time I get home.
No more wasted time watching the pc waiting for the 15 minutes to be up so you can start the next link.
This software does the waiting for you.
No more typing in the captcha code. jDownloader does it for you.
Make your downloading life easier and give jDownloader a try.
Enjoy!
TaZMAn
Try a program called jDownloader. It's free and because it's written in Java, it's not platform dependent.
That means it will run in Linux, Windows, Mac or any other OS that has Java installed.
You can go to the site found here;
http://jdownloader.org/home/index
Download the installer that matches your OS. You will also need the Java Runtime jre installed.
If you have Ubuntu you can get it through the repositories. Other OS's can get it from Sun's website here;
http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp
When you unzip the downloaded file in Ubuntu you will have a folder with many files in it.
The one you want to use is the one named jDownloader.jar
Right click on it and select Java Runtime Environment as the launcher.
You will be greeted with a configuration screen. It will also ask if you want to install apt-get in your Firefox browser so it will automatically grab the links you selected and add them to the link grabber section of jDownloader.
I'm not going to provide support for this software. That can be found in their forums.
What I will provide is some basic info to make your life easier.
If you don't have a premium membership to Rapidshare or any other file share site make sure you set the number of maximum connections for each site to 1.
You may also set your maximum simultaneous downloads to 1.
You also have the option to set your download speed plus many other options although the above are the most important.
Below is a screen shot of my linkgrabber screen. It has all the links for my 20 in 1 multiboot DVD ready to be added into the download section.
So what can jDownloader do for you?
It can automatically grab selected links and add it into your linkgrabber screen ready to be downloaded immediately or later on.
No need to sit and wait in between downloads because of mandatory wait times. This software does it for you! It also grabs the captcha codes like at Megaupload and puts them in for you.
And after the download is finished, it extracts the file from the rar or zip file.
It also has the ability to download protected links like those being circulated in several forums.
JDownloader supports hundreds of file sharing sites.
You cannot believe how much this software improves life for non-subscribers of file sharing sites.
I add the links and start it before leaving for work and depending on the size of file and speeds, it is usually done by the time I get home.
No more wasted time watching the pc waiting for the 15 minutes to be up so you can start the next link.
This software does the waiting for you.
No more typing in the captcha code. jDownloader does it for you.
Make your downloading life easier and give jDownloader a try.
Enjoy!
TaZMAn
Linux 20 in 1 Multi Boot Has Arrived
UPDATE!
New direct download links below! No waiting or membership required.
My newest 20 in 1 multiboot DVD is now ready for download. Let's start the new year celebration early!
I'm sorry about the delay but I wanted it tested by several sources before I released it.
As with any live distro, there are always some pc's that won't be able to boot and run a specific distro.
And unfortunately, you may come across a few in this release that will not boot.
Specifically Mint. For some reason Mint is very picky about hardware. During testing about 1/2 the pc's it was tested on could not run it. This is only one distro however. There are 19 others to choose from and many of them have boot options in the menu that allows a user to choose from several video modes that will allow even the older pc to run it. If a distro won't boot in a high end video mode try the vesa or safe graphics mode found in the sub-menu. I also enabled the feature to append commands to the boot script by pressing the Tab button.
Now for a run down of the distros included in this release. There is a wide variety of distros that I included as to give you an idea of what is out there other then the mainstream distros.
That said, here is what I have included;
Mint 7, CDLinux, xpud, NimbleX, Backtrack 3, antix, Austrumi, GeeXboX, MacPup, Netboot, Slax, Slitaz, TinyMe, Tiny Core, Wolvix, NT Password Recovery, Clonezilla, Parted Magic, Free Dos, Memtest
That should be a large enough variety to showcase all the different distros and their strong points.
Some notes about these distros. You may find that some of them don't have immediate internet access.
If you look in the software menu of the running distro you should find a program to configure you network connection or you may also see a wizard. Using one of these should allow you to connect to the internet but not guaranteed depending on type and age of the network card. Wifi was not tested so this will be something for you to check out.
I also want to comment on one distro in particular. That being Tiny Core. At 10 megs it is the smallest and also the fastest distro on the planet. Because of it's size there is no software included. But you can download and install it from within the distro very easily. Open the software window. You will see it is blank. Click on connect from within that window and it will connect over the internet to its repository.
A list of software will appear from which you can choose what you want to install.
New Links!
Thanks to Greg for his gracious offer to mirror my links on his dedicated server.
No waiting time between links and for those with good connections you can download the Iso file in one download. He also took the time to create a
MD5Sum text file so you can verify your downloads.
Please take the time to say thanks to Greg by dropping by his blog at:
http://labby.co.uk/
or you can leave a comment to him below in the comments section.
Here is the newest links to my files;
http://labby.co.uk/ubuntu4you/
I will also keep my Rapidshare links available here for downloading my 20 in 1 Linux multi boot DVD;
http://rapidshare.com/users/LN4B53/1
There is an excellent piece of software available for Windows and Linux users that makes downloading from Rapidshare and other share sites a breeze. It's called jdownloader and I will be doing an article on how to set it up in a few minutes. So look for my newest article on it.
Hope you enjoy this newest release and any feedback is appreciated.
TaZMAn
New direct download links below! No waiting or membership required.
My newest 20 in 1 multiboot DVD is now ready for download. Let's start the new year celebration early!
I'm sorry about the delay but I wanted it tested by several sources before I released it.
As with any live distro, there are always some pc's that won't be able to boot and run a specific distro.
And unfortunately, you may come across a few in this release that will not boot.
Specifically Mint. For some reason Mint is very picky about hardware. During testing about 1/2 the pc's it was tested on could not run it. This is only one distro however. There are 19 others to choose from and many of them have boot options in the menu that allows a user to choose from several video modes that will allow even the older pc to run it. If a distro won't boot in a high end video mode try the vesa or safe graphics mode found in the sub-menu. I also enabled the feature to append commands to the boot script by pressing the Tab button.
Now for a run down of the distros included in this release. There is a wide variety of distros that I included as to give you an idea of what is out there other then the mainstream distros.
That said, here is what I have included;
Mint 7, CDLinux, xpud, NimbleX, Backtrack 3, antix, Austrumi, GeeXboX, MacPup, Netboot, Slax, Slitaz, TinyMe, Tiny Core, Wolvix, NT Password Recovery, Clonezilla, Parted Magic, Free Dos, Memtest
That should be a large enough variety to showcase all the different distros and their strong points.
Some notes about these distros. You may find that some of them don't have immediate internet access.
If you look in the software menu of the running distro you should find a program to configure you network connection or you may also see a wizard. Using one of these should allow you to connect to the internet but not guaranteed depending on type and age of the network card. Wifi was not tested so this will be something for you to check out.
I also want to comment on one distro in particular. That being Tiny Core. At 10 megs it is the smallest and also the fastest distro on the planet. Because of it's size there is no software included. But you can download and install it from within the distro very easily. Open the software window. You will see it is blank. Click on connect from within that window and it will connect over the internet to its repository.
A list of software will appear from which you can choose what you want to install.
New Links!
Thanks to Greg for his gracious offer to mirror my links on his dedicated server.
No waiting time between links and for those with good connections you can download the Iso file in one download. He also took the time to create a
MD5Sum text file so you can verify your downloads.
Please take the time to say thanks to Greg by dropping by his blog at:
http://labby.co.uk/
or you can leave a comment to him below in the comments section.
Here is the newest links to my files;
http://labby.co.uk/ubuntu4you/
I will also keep my Rapidshare links available here for downloading my 20 in 1 Linux multi boot DVD;
http://rapidshare.com/users/LN4B53/1
There is an excellent piece of software available for Windows and Linux users that makes downloading from Rapidshare and other share sites a breeze. It's called jdownloader and I will be doing an article on how to set it up in a few minutes. So look for my newest article on it.
Hope you enjoy this newest release and any feedback is appreciated.
TaZMAn
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Linux 20 in 1 Multiboot DVD
Latest News UPDATE!!!
The links have been posted in my blog post found here;
http://tazbuntu.blogspot.com/2009/12/linux-20-in-1-multi-boot-has-arrived.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
That's right! A 20 in 1 Linux Multi-Boot DVD. I'm putting the final touches on it right now.
I've packed in a lot of goodies and added a custom menu and sub menus. I've learned some new techniques since making the last multi-boot DVD.
I bet everyone thought I was dead or this blog was dead. Far from it! I have much more to add in the near future. I got the urge to create one of the largest (in terms of distros) multiboot DVD's and I was spending all my free time on it. Now that it's finished, I can continue adding other goodies to my blog.
Now for the technical portion and specifics. I will be uploading the links to Rapidhare. Expect to see them within 5 or 6 days. I have a few people still testing it and I won't upload it until I get thumbs up across the board. There will be 40 files. 39 of them will be 100 Mb and the last one is 65 Mb.
As for the distro list? Here you go;
Mint 6, Knoppix 5, Slax, Feather, DSL, Puppy, Astrumi, Slitaz, TinyMe, Tiny Core, Backtrack, xpud, antiX, NimbleX, Insert, NetBoot, Clonezilla, NT Password Recovery, MemTest, Free Dos.
That's a lot of computing power packed into one DVD. I decided to use Knoppix 5 rather then the newer releases as version 5 packs more software into it then the newer versions. Most of the other distros are the newest releases. I tried staying away from versions that were beta or 'cutting edge' as I wanted a stable DVD.
I'm including 2 screenshots of the main menu. When I post the links for the DVD I will also include a few screenshots of the sub-menus.
Here is the main menu layout. Had to do 2 screenshots because I used isolinux for my menu config and not all the distros fit in the window. You need to scroll up and down using the arrow keys on the keyboard.
I will add a post with the links to this DVD in 5 or 6 days. It will take some time to upload all the files as my ISP has serious issues with allowing us paying users to have more then a few 100k in upload speeds.
Hope I'm not the only person excited about this DVD.
LOL!!
UPDATE!!!!!
This project is on hold until I can sort out some of the issues I have encountered in Mint and Karmic Koala. Those issues being file permissions being changed to root during the burning with k3b and problems with checksums and the inability to create a proper iso file due to the "the size can't be determined" bug I have encountered in Karmic.
Thank you for your interest and patience during this time. I am working on getting this completed as soon as possible.
TaZMAn
The links have been posted in my blog post found here;
http://tazbuntu.blogspot.com/2009/12/linux-20-in-1-multi-boot-has-arrived.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
That's right! A 20 in 1 Linux Multi-Boot DVD. I'm putting the final touches on it right now.
I've packed in a lot of goodies and added a custom menu and sub menus. I've learned some new techniques since making the last multi-boot DVD.
I bet everyone thought I was dead or this blog was dead. Far from it! I have much more to add in the near future. I got the urge to create one of the largest (in terms of distros) multiboot DVD's and I was spending all my free time on it. Now that it's finished, I can continue adding other goodies to my blog.
Now for the technical portion and specifics. I will be uploading the links to Rapidhare. Expect to see them within 5 or 6 days. I have a few people still testing it and I won't upload it until I get thumbs up across the board. There will be 40 files. 39 of them will be 100 Mb and the last one is 65 Mb.
As for the distro list? Here you go;
Mint 6, Knoppix 5, Slax, Feather, DSL, Puppy, Astrumi, Slitaz, TinyMe, Tiny Core, Backtrack, xpud, antiX, NimbleX, Insert, NetBoot, Clonezilla, NT Password Recovery, MemTest, Free Dos.
That's a lot of computing power packed into one DVD. I decided to use Knoppix 5 rather then the newer releases as version 5 packs more software into it then the newer versions. Most of the other distros are the newest releases. I tried staying away from versions that were beta or 'cutting edge' as I wanted a stable DVD.
I'm including 2 screenshots of the main menu. When I post the links for the DVD I will also include a few screenshots of the sub-menus.
Here is the main menu layout. Had to do 2 screenshots because I used isolinux for my menu config and not all the distros fit in the window. You need to scroll up and down using the arrow keys on the keyboard.
I will add a post with the links to this DVD in 5 or 6 days. It will take some time to upload all the files as my ISP has serious issues with allowing us paying users to have more then a few 100k in upload speeds.
Hope I'm not the only person excited about this DVD.
LOL!!
UPDATE!!!!!
This project is on hold until I can sort out some of the issues I have encountered in Mint and Karmic Koala. Those issues being file permissions being changed to root during the burning with k3b and problems with checksums and the inability to create a proper iso file due to the "the size can't be determined" bug I have encountered in Karmic.
Thank you for your interest and patience during this time. I am working on getting this completed as soon as possible.
TaZMAn
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Random Ravings
I'm still alive and well. Just extremely busy with work and real world stuff.
To be honest, I haven't had any time to play with my computer so that I can blog about it here.
But I do have some rants and thoughts I figured I'd share with you.
Most of it has to do with (Gasp!) Windows. Like that's breaking news. LOL!
I've had numerous people contact me over the past few weeks with questions and concerns.
They are all Windows users. Many questions concerned the new Windows 7 being released shortly.
Questions like what version would be the best? Will my system run it? How much and how hard will it be to upgrade?
UGH! All those that I spoke with will be able to run Win 7 as they have systems built by me and I had the foresight to build them with over kill because I figured the next gen Microsoft OS would probably want more power then what Vista required. Although we now know it won't.
But I made sure to max those systems out so they won't have any future upgrade problems.
Price and upgrade is another matter though. As I said, these were custom built systems and the customers all have Vista Ultimate installed at their request. At the time they wanted the latest cutting edge OS that Microsoft offered. Now it's going to bite them in the A$$ royally!
For a comparable version of Windows 7 they will be shelling out close to $200 for the upgrade version. This is after they already shelled out almost $300 for Vista Ultimate that was lackluster at best and surely wasn't worth the price.
But the upgrade process that they will have to go through because they are using Ultimate is the biggest disaster since the Titanic. If you have Ultimate installed you will need to back up all your files and documents, hope you have all your original software and then you will need to do a fresh install of Windows 7.
That cold hard fact right there turned off most of my callers. They said they didn't feel comfortable or wanted to go through all the back up and installation process.
Way to go Microsoft! Make more people unhappy. Hopefully they will finally see the light and realize Windows isn't the only OS in town. But this post isn't just about bashing Microsoft or Windows 7. Or is it? LOL! Let's continue.
Tonight I had a co-worker's son call me. He is building a new computer and wanted some feedback about quality motherboards and video cards. He is planning to run the Adobe Creative Suite. Poor kid is an aspiring graphic artist and spends his every penny on software and computers. Good thing he still lives at home. LOL!!
I took a quick look at the system requirements for the version he had.
Nothing outstanding. He will still be using XP since his version probably won't run on Windows 7. Only concerns was a quality video card which he can grab for around $140.
Asked him why the new computer. He said he is building it so when he can afford the newest Creative Suite version that runs in Windows 7 he will upgrade. I then upped his video card recommendation to a $200+ unit. So much money tossed into hardware and software every few years just so we can be functional and up to date? Give me a break!!
I guess what I'm really getting at is that for my needs and comfort zone, I'm more then happy using Linux. And NO!, I'm not some couch surfing, email forwarding casual user.
I have my hands in many projects when I have the time. I like making graphics, creating my own music, create my own bootable OS disks and probably do more then most users would ever get their hands into.
And when I was using Windows I was not what you would call a legit software user.
Anything coming my way was welcome. But you finally get to a point where you have had enough. Hours of hunting, removing viruses from some of the non-legit software, burning the stuff to Cd's or DVD's.
Using Linux is like a dream. I need software, I just need to do a few clicks.
And software is updated automatically. No need to find the latest and greatest all the while hoping it's not filled with viruses.
I have a good chuckle when I hear people saying they need to upgrade their Ram because the 1 or 2 Gigs may not be enough for what they want to do. I enjoy watching their jaws drop when I tell them my PC only has 512 Megs of Ram.
Nor do I have a dual core CPU. Why should I? For what I do on this computer, a single core is all I need.
And soon the newest version of Ubuntu and Mint will be available. Won't cost me a dime and the upgrade will be much easier then what Vista Ultimate users will be put through. Also will work without having to update my hardware.
I learned a long time ago that when installing Linux, you put your Home directory on a separate partition. That way if something ever goes wrong with an update or you want to install a pre-release version all your data and files are still safe and sound. Let's see Windows do that!
And speaking about keeping data safe. How about that T-Mobile fiasco with their Sidekick phone and the servers owned by a Microsoft company? Microsoft tries implementing a new database strategy and looses all the data on both the main server and the back up.
Hey Bozos! Next time you may want to try it with the back up server disconnected just in case your new strategy eats all the data.
Cloud computing. Hah! All these companies can sucker you in and tell you it is the latest and greatest. It is the wave of the future. But just how safe is your data. The above Sidekick fiasco is just one example. How about questions like "where is the server located?" "How secure is the facility?" "Who at the facility has access to my data?" (That's a biggie).
Or how about the $100,000.00 question?
If my data is lost or compromised, who is responsible and what recourse do I have?
All those questions are legitimate and must be answered before you can even trust your data to the cloud.
Well, I'm done ranting and bashing.
Got to go. Remember, keep your eyes and ears open. Think outside the box and ask plenty of questions. It's the only way to learn and stay safe.
TaZ
To be honest, I haven't had any time to play with my computer so that I can blog about it here.
But I do have some rants and thoughts I figured I'd share with you.
Most of it has to do with (Gasp!) Windows. Like that's breaking news. LOL!
I've had numerous people contact me over the past few weeks with questions and concerns.
They are all Windows users. Many questions concerned the new Windows 7 being released shortly.
Questions like what version would be the best? Will my system run it? How much and how hard will it be to upgrade?
UGH! All those that I spoke with will be able to run Win 7 as they have systems built by me and I had the foresight to build them with over kill because I figured the next gen Microsoft OS would probably want more power then what Vista required. Although we now know it won't.
But I made sure to max those systems out so they won't have any future upgrade problems.
Price and upgrade is another matter though. As I said, these were custom built systems and the customers all have Vista Ultimate installed at their request. At the time they wanted the latest cutting edge OS that Microsoft offered. Now it's going to bite them in the A$$ royally!
For a comparable version of Windows 7 they will be shelling out close to $200 for the upgrade version. This is after they already shelled out almost $300 for Vista Ultimate that was lackluster at best and surely wasn't worth the price.
But the upgrade process that they will have to go through because they are using Ultimate is the biggest disaster since the Titanic. If you have Ultimate installed you will need to back up all your files and documents, hope you have all your original software and then you will need to do a fresh install of Windows 7.
That cold hard fact right there turned off most of my callers. They said they didn't feel comfortable or wanted to go through all the back up and installation process.
Way to go Microsoft! Make more people unhappy. Hopefully they will finally see the light and realize Windows isn't the only OS in town. But this post isn't just about bashing Microsoft or Windows 7. Or is it? LOL! Let's continue.
Tonight I had a co-worker's son call me. He is building a new computer and wanted some feedback about quality motherboards and video cards. He is planning to run the Adobe Creative Suite. Poor kid is an aspiring graphic artist and spends his every penny on software and computers. Good thing he still lives at home. LOL!!
I took a quick look at the system requirements for the version he had.
Nothing outstanding. He will still be using XP since his version probably won't run on Windows 7. Only concerns was a quality video card which he can grab for around $140.
Asked him why the new computer. He said he is building it so when he can afford the newest Creative Suite version that runs in Windows 7 he will upgrade. I then upped his video card recommendation to a $200+ unit. So much money tossed into hardware and software every few years just so we can be functional and up to date? Give me a break!!
I guess what I'm really getting at is that for my needs and comfort zone, I'm more then happy using Linux. And NO!, I'm not some couch surfing, email forwarding casual user.
I have my hands in many projects when I have the time. I like making graphics, creating my own music, create my own bootable OS disks and probably do more then most users would ever get their hands into.
And when I was using Windows I was not what you would call a legit software user.
Anything coming my way was welcome. But you finally get to a point where you have had enough. Hours of hunting, removing viruses from some of the non-legit software, burning the stuff to Cd's or DVD's.
Using Linux is like a dream. I need software, I just need to do a few clicks.
And software is updated automatically. No need to find the latest and greatest all the while hoping it's not filled with viruses.
I have a good chuckle when I hear people saying they need to upgrade their Ram because the 1 or 2 Gigs may not be enough for what they want to do. I enjoy watching their jaws drop when I tell them my PC only has 512 Megs of Ram.
Nor do I have a dual core CPU. Why should I? For what I do on this computer, a single core is all I need.
And soon the newest version of Ubuntu and Mint will be available. Won't cost me a dime and the upgrade will be much easier then what Vista Ultimate users will be put through. Also will work without having to update my hardware.
I learned a long time ago that when installing Linux, you put your Home directory on a separate partition. That way if something ever goes wrong with an update or you want to install a pre-release version all your data and files are still safe and sound. Let's see Windows do that!
And speaking about keeping data safe. How about that T-Mobile fiasco with their Sidekick phone and the servers owned by a Microsoft company? Microsoft tries implementing a new database strategy and looses all the data on both the main server and the back up.
Hey Bozos! Next time you may want to try it with the back up server disconnected just in case your new strategy eats all the data.
Cloud computing. Hah! All these companies can sucker you in and tell you it is the latest and greatest. It is the wave of the future. But just how safe is your data. The above Sidekick fiasco is just one example. How about questions like "where is the server located?" "How secure is the facility?" "Who at the facility has access to my data?" (That's a biggie).
Or how about the $100,000.00 question?
If my data is lost or compromised, who is responsible and what recourse do I have?
All those questions are legitimate and must be answered before you can even trust your data to the cloud.
Well, I'm done ranting and bashing.
Got to go. Remember, keep your eyes and ears open. Think outside the box and ask plenty of questions. It's the only way to learn and stay safe.
TaZ
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Beatles - Yellow Submarine
Your not going crazy. This post is not about Linux or any other OS.
It's about I need your help or maybe I'm going crazy.
Back in the day, the Beatles songs were all over the airwaves. Every radio station was playing them. And one song sticks out in my mind because I can't find it or any info about it. That being Yellow Submarine by the Beatles.
But not the versions I keep coming across. I'm not that crazy or dense! LOL!!
The version I remember sounded like all the others I came across except for one part.
In the easily found version there is a part where you hear the sub noises and crew talking through the intercom with the final words of Tip it! Tip it!
The version that was played over the radio and on the juke boxes in my area had the words Dive! Dive!
Now I don't know if that was some kind of local area remix or if we have had the originals polluted by re-issues and re-masters and I haven't come across the true original?
So I am asking for your help. If anyone knows what album or release that version of Yellow Submarine is from, I sure would appreciate a shout in the comments section.
And thanks to any who can help me.
It's about I need your help or maybe I'm going crazy.
Back in the day, the Beatles songs were all over the airwaves. Every radio station was playing them. And one song sticks out in my mind because I can't find it or any info about it. That being Yellow Submarine by the Beatles.
But not the versions I keep coming across. I'm not that crazy or dense! LOL!!
The version I remember sounded like all the others I came across except for one part.
In the easily found version there is a part where you hear the sub noises and crew talking through the intercom with the final words of Tip it! Tip it!
The version that was played over the radio and on the juke boxes in my area had the words Dive! Dive!
Now I don't know if that was some kind of local area remix or if we have had the originals polluted by re-issues and re-masters and I haven't come across the true original?
So I am asking for your help. If anyone knows what album or release that version of Yellow Submarine is from, I sure would appreciate a shout in the comments section.
And thanks to any who can help me.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
I Made The Switch
I recently made the switch. No! Not to Windows 7 !!!!
I switched to Mint.
I have been using Ubuntu since Edgy and became a full time Linux user since Feisty.
As good as it is, I needed a change. Not so much a full distro change but more of a look and feel change.
I had some help with this decision. I was trying out ReneL's new multi-boot DVD which contains Mint (Both Gnome and KDE) along with all the Ubuntu versions, SysRescue and TinyCore.
In case you haven't been following the comments in my blogs and missed it, you can get the torrent from here;
http://www.mininova.org/tor/2837481
I will also be posting a new article about it and hope to put up some RS links to it.
Now about Mint.
After I installed it I realized that the look was very different. Instead of 2 task bars, there was only one. And that was at the bottom of the screen. I know I said I wanted a new look and feel but I'm so accustomed to having the task bar on top I switched its position.
The install and updates along with additional software installs took about 2 hours.
And thanks to Linux keeping all your personal files in the Home directory along with the ability to have your Home folder loaded into it's own partition, my documents, bookmarks and email were all ready and waiting for me.
So now I will be using Mint until I tire of it and switch to another distro.
But I still have my back up computer that currently has Vector Linux on it that I also use.
I enjoy variety and thankfully Linux provides me with plenty of choices.
Maybe I will just have to set up a multi-boot on my back up computer and install TinyCore next to Vector just for the fun of it.
BTW..... As with all the Debian distros, Streamtuner also needed to be patched for the Shoutcast bug. Mint may look different but it still has it's roots in Debian.
Until next time.
TaZMAn
I switched to Mint.
I have been using Ubuntu since Edgy and became a full time Linux user since Feisty.
As good as it is, I needed a change. Not so much a full distro change but more of a look and feel change.
I had some help with this decision. I was trying out ReneL's new multi-boot DVD which contains Mint (Both Gnome and KDE) along with all the Ubuntu versions, SysRescue and TinyCore.
In case you haven't been following the comments in my blogs and missed it, you can get the torrent from here;
http://www.mininova.org/tor/2837481
I will also be posting a new article about it and hope to put up some RS links to it.
Now about Mint.
After I installed it I realized that the look was very different. Instead of 2 task bars, there was only one. And that was at the bottom of the screen. I know I said I wanted a new look and feel but I'm so accustomed to having the task bar on top I switched its position.
The install and updates along with additional software installs took about 2 hours.
And thanks to Linux keeping all your personal files in the Home directory along with the ability to have your Home folder loaded into it's own partition, my documents, bookmarks and email were all ready and waiting for me.
So now I will be using Mint until I tire of it and switch to another distro.
But I still have my back up computer that currently has Vector Linux on it that I also use.
I enjoy variety and thankfully Linux provides me with plenty of choices.
Maybe I will just have to set up a multi-boot on my back up computer and install TinyCore next to Vector just for the fun of it.
BTW..... As with all the Debian distros, Streamtuner also needed to be patched for the Shoutcast bug. Mint may look different but it still has it's roots in Debian.
Until next time.
TaZMAn
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