Still Not Getting It

I'm sure it's mostly me, but I struggle to find the advantages of selling pre-loaded Linux machines. I'm glad there are companies that do; System76, ZaReason, Dell to name the one's I really know. But I struggle to see the advantage. I like the idea of promoting open source software, and open drivers for hardware -which I think all vendors would do well to go with- but where is the advantage of sell a pre-loaded Linux machine?

There are thousands of used and older computer that run Linux very well. If someone is really a stickler, many of them will run Windows XP just as well too. Vista's turned into more of a flop than a wow, so the need for super hardware is mostly a niche market; Gamers, Engineers, Graphic and animation specialist.

The only real benefit from the absolute newest hardware is battery life on a laptop. Other than that, a used computer is just as good as a new one. A Pentium 4 machine with a good graphics card feels just as fast as a Core Duo.

Maybe my old hardware fetish clouds my judgment. Maybe my over-consumer stance clouds my judgment too.

Someone please tell me: Why spend $1200 on a new computer, when a $300 spent on rebuilt older hardware is just as good?

Disclaimer: Even after all this rambling, I'd love to have a System76 Darter, topped out. Four hour battery life? Yeah, baby!

A Few Reviews

In the last few days, I've set up a few VirtualBox systems. The idea is to install and use an OS well enough to get a good idea of it. As I try out a system, I focus on one primary principle- Ease of Use. I try to put myself in a frame of mind of a complete new computer user. It's not easy.
Here's my experiences so far:

CentOS

CentOS, short for Community enterprise Operating System, is a complete copy of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The difference is, other than community support, CentOS comes with no official support. Oracle produces a copy of Red Hat called Unbreakable Linux. Fedora is Red Hat's cutting edge future work, but Red Hat Enterprise is what is used in business.

I decided to load CentOS in a VirtualBox machine so I could go through some Red Hat tutorials. The installation and desktop reminded me of my first experience with Linux - Fedora Core 4. Other than being an RPM based distribution, CentOS is pretty good.

Many businesses use Red Hat Enterprise, or even CentOS, on their servers. I need to know how to use it in a business setting. From what I can tell, CentOS is an excellent way to learn how to use Red Hat Linux.

PCLinuxOS

PCLinuxOS is topping the distrowatch chart lately, so I decided to try it out and see why. Installing PCLinuxOS was fairly straight forward, but there were a few places where a new user unfamiliar with Linux might get confused. Just like Windows, it's easier to just go with the default settings.

PCLinuxOS is a KDE based distribution. There's a variant designed to look much like Windows XP/Vista, but it's not really supported by the forums.

Other than visual appeal, I didn't see anything really special about PCLinuxOS. I'm not sure why it's topping the Distrowatch list at the moment. It looks better than Ubuntu/Kubuntu, but the Ubuntu variants installation seems easier.

I'm not a KDE fan, so PCLinuxOS wouldn't be a primary choice for me. Don't get me wrong -I'm glad KDE offers a choice. Maybe KDE 4.0 will change my mind. But, for now, my desktop of choice is Gnome, and my distro of choice is Ubuntu.

gOS

I did a few reviews of gOS recently, but I wanted to comment a bit more on it. There have been some recent reviews of the Everex gPC, featuring gOS, and they were not raving reviews. gOS offers an excellent Ubuntu variant, but can be confusing for a completely new user. I still think gOS is a good option for millennium kids, but not for the average person. Everex would have done better to go with a straight forward version of Ubuntu.

Over the next year, I'm going to try out the top 20, and maybe a few more, Linux distros. I'll report on them as I experience each one. Unfortunately, a Virtual Computer doesn't give you the real information about a Linux installation. A true test would be to install and use it on a laptop.

Windows Security

The more I think about it, the more I suspect that I may never have had a malware problem on my Windows partition. I used to figure that if I had Windows running longer than six months, it got malware. At least, that was my previous experience. But, that experience was based on running Windows only.

In the last 1 1/2 years since I installed my dual boot desktop, I used Windows for schoolwork, iTunes and Audible.com. I used Linux for everything else, especially random internet surfing. If I didn't have school, I'd wouldn't use Windows at all. I get it through school, as part of our materials for training. I rarely use Windows for surfing the internet, and I never went on myspace or facebook with it. Most of my mail was opened in Ubuntu, and unless I know who it's from, I don't open attachments. So, looking back, I rarely exposed Windows to potential malware.

Maybe most people who insist on using Windows should have a dual boot system. They could surf and email from Linux, and do whatever they need to for work or school in Windows. As more applications are available online, there will be less of a need for a particular operating system, be it Windows, Mac, or Linux. That's a whole 'nuther security issue itself, though.

Upgrades

The Tinkering Monster got me. I did the upgrades on my desktop:

1. Graphics card- from 32 mb ATI to 128 mb Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440. -- I did this upgrade first. When I turned the computer back on, Windows came on, but obviously wasn't using the drivers. Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper Drake didn't work with the Nvidia card. It could have, but I didn't bother to go through the xorg.conf file to fix it. I was already planning more upgrading anyway.
2. Pentium 4 processor from 1.8 GHz to 2.26 GHz - The major difference isn't necessarily the speed of the processor, rather the speed of the bus. From 400 MHz to 533 MHz. That is where the speed really comes from. Anyway, the computer worked right away. A good bit faster.
3. Dbanned the hard drive, reinstalled Windows and Ubuntu.

The reinstallation is something I've been wanting to do. I save all my personal data and setting to external hard drives, wiped the disk, then reinstalled my dual boot system. It's REALLY important to install Windows XP first. Not that you couldn't do it another way, but it makes setting up a dual boot much easier. I installed Windows, did all the updates, installed the anti-virus and anti-spyware, the defragged the disk and installed Ubuntu.

Here's the catch: Ubuntu to all of 2 hours to:

1. Install the system
2. Do the system updates
   
3. Enable all the repositories I want
4. Load all the software I want
5. Copy specific personal data to My Home folder.

Done. Actually, in slightly less than 2 hours. Windows, however, was another story.

The installation alone took almost 2 hours, and that was before the updates. 10 hours later, almost all the updates were finally done. I counted seven rounds of restarts. That should have been the justice departments punishment for Microsoft: to restart their entire business seven times a day. I eventually got most of what I need installed. Once again, I've learned what I use and what I don't use. 95% of the software I installed on the Windows side is open source. A few proprietary programs, but not many. I'll go without Microsoft Office as long as I can, and use OpenOffice.org exclusively. I would love to say that I use Open Source exclusively, but I'm in school for IT, so it's not an option just yet. I'd love to say that I use Ubuntu Linux exclusively, but I have to know how all the other Operating Systems work: Windowx XP/Vista, Mac OSX, Unix, Solaris, FreeBSD. Yes, I know the last four are basically the same thing. I have to know how to use them.

The main advantage to upgrading Ubuntu from 6.06.1 to 7.10 is being able to use the files in the Windows partition. Click on the disk, browse to the folder with the file I want, and use it. I don't even have to drag it to the Ubuntu side. And no extra packages to install to make that happen. 7.10 also comes with the latest packages/programs for Ubuntu.

The only real upgrade left that I really need is the ram. It's 1 GB right now, but 2 GB would work better for me. If I wasn't in school, I'd probably not bother, but many of my classes use Virtualization for learning and practice. For now, 1 GB is fine, but I'll probably have to upgrade the ram with my own money. If I get a job, that is.

I did decide to scavenge the Gateway box for this upgrade. The Gateway isn't dead though, not by a long shot. I had some extra processors, so I put in a 2.8 GHz Celeron in it, and the 32 mb ATI graphics card that was in my Dell to the the Gateway machine. Installed Ubuntu, and it's ready to go to a trusty volunteer. I just hope whoever gets the machine doesn't try to upgrade the ram.

What to do?

The semester is over. The urge to tinker is overwhelming. I have plenty of machines to work on for Free Geek, but that's almost getting routine. A good routine:

• Pickup or receive equipment
• Wipe the hard drive(s)
• Check and upgrade if necessary
• BIOS
• Memory
• Graphics card
  
• Load Ubuntu or Xubuntu as an OEM installation
• Deliver to recipient or have them pick up
• Usually deliver, since people who can't afford a computer usually can't afford a car.
• Prepare for the inevitable onslaught of "Thanks You"s

Yep. A good routine.

The Gateway I recieved is a pretty good one, except for the RDRAM. Now RAMBUS is actually a really good technology, but the company messed themselves up on the licensing, so RAMBUS is just way too expensive. To upgrade the memory from 512 mb to 1 Gb would cost almost $500. Not practical at all. The only choice with a machine that uses RDRAM is to wait till other machines like that come it, and use those memory chips. For our purposes, RAMBUS is a show-stopper.

So, I've decided to scavenge the Gateway for parts. As I am the primary volunteer, I get first pick of best-of hardware. So, I'm going to try to use the parts from the Gateway to upgrade me Dell:

• The Pentium 4 processor from 1.8 GHz to 2.26 GHz
• The graphics card from 32 meg to 128 mg

Those would be the main upgrades. I would eventually want to upgrade the memory from 1 GB to 1.5 GB on too. I use my desktop for lots of projects using a virtual machine, so memory is important to me. When you have two virtualized servers going, and two virtualized desktops going, memory tends to forget.

The problem is: my desktop is working fine. It dual boots Windows XP and Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper Drake. I set it up like that right after Dapper Drake came out, so it was around June 2006. I've been running that setup this long - probably the longest I've gone without doing a system reinstall. Every once in awhile, I'll scan my Windows installation with different tools for malware, but nothing comes up. I use the Ubuntu side to do 90% of my internet surfing or IMing. I use the Windows side mostly for school assignments that require Windows, so my Windows side is rarely exposed to the outside world.

Windows XP SP3 (service pack 3) is due out soon, and I hear good things about it -as far as security and speeding things up. Also, Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Herron will be an LTS release (Long Term Service, like Dapper Drake is) meaning 3 years support for the desktop. My original idea was to wait till both are available, and do the hardware upgrades and system reinstalls then. Part of the reason is that I don't look forward to the Windows installation. Getting the system installed, updated, and programs reinstalled and updated can take almost 48 hours -or more even. Getting everything setup and installed just like I want -including programs and desktop settings- in Ubuntu take two hours, three at the most. It would probably be shorter if I didn't walk the dogs during the install process.

There is also the possibility that if I wait till both of those are available, even better equipment donations will come through Free Geek, and I can use some of those. That, and while RAMBUS is expensive, it runs very well with just 512 mb. I could give the Gateway to a volunteer -provided they'd never need to upgrade the memory.

So, to my avid readers, what do you suggest?

Finals Are DONE!

My first final -Advanced Network Security- took all of 7 minutes. 40 questions, multiple choice. Five seconds or more a question? Something like that. I got 100.

My second test -Introduction to Business- took even less time. I got to class -filled in the scan tron sheet with my name and school number- then the teacher took up the sheet from me and another girl, and said, "Thanks. You can go."
Now, when a teach does and says that, my instant assumption is that I've done something wrong. "Whad I'do? My book? I'll take it off the desk."
"No. You got an A," she replied.
The who's from Ukraine, and has been speaking English for only a few months, grabbed my arm and said, "Come on, let's go."
Clueless me is still going, "Huh?"
"Merry Christmas," the teacher said.
"Merry Christmas?" I replied, still clueless.
When we got out to the hall, Nelya told me what was going on. Evidently, she and I had above a 95 average, and were the only ones in the class who'd done all the work. We could have failed the final, and still gotten an A. Reward for effort.

My third final -Introduction to Network Security- was about as fast as the other test, except I missed two questions on Public Key Cryptography- Sender/Receiver keys and digital signatures and digital certificates. I get all those a bit confused. I'll get them ironed out eventually. Maybe a bit of practice with GNUPG (GNU Privacy Guard) will help.

I made a 95 on the Intro to Security, after I'd made a 100 on the Advanced Security. Go figure.

Today, I took my last final -Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure. I got a 97. The class uses SamAcademy by Course Technology. I don't like that product. TestOut is WAY better. Learnkey is somewhere in between. The final was completely practical, using the simulator environment in SamAcademy. Windows always you many ways to do the same thing, like close a window. You can click the X in the top right corner, click "File" and select close, or right click on the Window bar and select close. SamAcademy lets you do it only ONE way in their sim. Like Mac OSX, you have to do it THEIR way. The problem is you get use to doing it one way, and you reflexively do that way. Then you get the "INCORRECT ACTION". How Soviet. This time, I went back through all the simulations, wrote down everything step by step (in an OpenOffice.org file, of course- who uses paper?) and followed it in the test. I only missed one question -and I think it was sim error, not mine. But I got a 97 anyway, so I'm not complaining.

Even after all that, I consider my best achievement this semester to be getting our printer networked in Ubuntu. It's cool being able to print wireless from my laptop.

I've Been an Elitist!

Sometimes it's difficult to see when it's happening. In the USA, pretty much any purchase you make puts you in the category of an elitist. The massive overconsumption we do (and I'm just as guilty as anyone) would take six and 1/2 planets to sustain. We've gone past the point of abusing our resources to the point of running them dry.

What I never realized was the impact of actually using Windows. The exclusionary and elitist statement that even turning on a Windows machine says is pretty big. Bruce Byfield, a journalist and editor for the Open Source Technology Group, did a really good article on the subject in November 2006. I highly recommend reading it.

I have a Windows Server 2003 test due tomorrow. To quote the dinosaur in Toy Story, "Now I have guilt!"

Compiz

Today, I received a donation of a Gateway tower, 2.26 Ghz, 512 mb RAMBUS ram, 40 gb hard drive @ 7200rpm, Nvidia GeForceMX 440 graphics (128mb). Except for the RAMBUS ram, it's a really nice machine. Rambus is actually an excellent and fast type of memory, but the company screwed themselves with a stupid licensing deal, and their memory is WAY too expensive. It would take $500 or more to take this computer up to 1 gb of memory, and it's not really necessary with the RAMBUS type of memory to do that.

This computer is the first I've had with a good enough graphics card to use Compiz-fusion - the desktop effects that comes with Ubuntu. I decided to enable the effects, install the effects manager and play a little.

Mac OSX and Vista got nuthin over compiz for desktop effects! Here's a demonstration of what the desktop effects can do:

While I like the effects, I probably would rarely use them myself.

Truecrypt is DONE!

While I mean my presentation is done, it would be just as true to say, "Truecrypt is DONE" as an application. This is one incredible program.

I spent most of the end of last week watching Truecrypt tutorials, like this one on YouTube, or this one on Irongeek. The Irongeek one is especially informative. I spent most of Sunday and Monday actually practicing using Truecrypt. It's pretty easy to use, but to use it to it's full potential takes practice. I first learned about Truecrypt on Security Now! with Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte, espisode #41. I highly recommend listening to it a few times if you intend on using Truecrypt.

• If you have files that you don't want anyone else to see, use Truecrypt
• If you use a laptop, and have sensative files on it, use Truecrypt
• If you keep any files on a USB jumpdrive, use Truecrypt - even regular files can contain sensitive information that can be used against you
• If you want to keep important records with your attorney, mother, best friend - make a CD with Truecrypt and have them keep it - just in case of fire, hurricane, or flood
• If you work for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, and you're sending a CD with 7.25 million peoples ID's by courier service - use Truecrypt. And get a different courier service!
• If you suspect your ex has hired private investigators to find out how much money you really have - use Truecyrpt.
  
• If you finally have evidence that the Electoral College if fake - use Truecyrpt

I really can't say enough about how important a tool Truecrypt is, and how important the skilled use of Truecrypt can be for a company with sensitive information - even if that company is only one person. At the very least, watch the Irongeek video on Truecrypt.

The Linux version of Truecrypt is command-line based, and the Truecrypt people are working on a GUI for it. A Mac OSX version is suppose to be forth coming too. I'll play around with the command-line version over the holidays, and report back.

"Nuke it for Morbid"

In working on my Data Destruction presentation, I wanted to use that quote from Aliens. On looking it up, I learned the real dialog is;
"...take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

I liked it better as "Nuke it for Morbid". Much more poetic.

Security Presentations

In an inevitable twist of academic logic, I'm taking Introduction to Network Security and Advanced Network Security in the same semester. Evidently, the school will not be able to offer Advanced Network Security till next year, so they allowed some of us to take both classes. Luckily, Advanced Network Security was only slighty more advanced than the Introductory class. Both classes have presented new material for me, and tickled my interest. I can watch movies like Hackers or Live Free or Die Hard, and know what they're talking about, or being slightly inaccurate about. I now know just how much a problem home users of Windows XP have to deal with, and also how much they unknowingly contribute to the problems.

Next week, I have to do a presentation in both classes. It can't be the same presentation either. I'm keeping my presentations simple, and on things I'm interested in.

In the Introductory class, I'm doing my presentation on Data Destruction. Specifically, I'm presenting Darik's Boot and Nuke -Dban. Organizations like Free Geek have to present their Data Destruction Policy up front, so people can feel safe about turning over their hard drives to us. I've created a Virtual Machine to show the actual program, a slide presentation to present specific information, and I'll probably show this video at the end:

If I don't need to show the video, at least you got to see how Dban works. Dban is also helpful if you want to reinstall an operating system. Simply reformatting your hard drive isn't always good enough. If you had an infection from a virus, or got spyware, or hacked through a vulnerability, your system can no longer be trusted. Dban it, reinstall and rebuild the system. As they said in Aliens, "Nuke it for morbid."

In my Advanced class, I'm presenting Truecrypt - an open source data encryption program. Steve Gibson discussed details about Truecrypt in Episode 41 of Security Now Podcast. I highly recommend Security Now for anyone interested in Network Security. I don't understand about half of what they say at the time, but as I learn more I think to myself, "Oh yeah. I heard that on Security Now." I'm learning how to use Truecrypt, but with my complete openness philosophy, I don't really have a need for it. There is a Truecrypt for Linux, but I'll learn that over the holidays. Maybe you have some files you'd like to keep from prying eyes. My presentation will look something like this:

Through these Security Classes, I've learned the most from listening to podcasts. Here are the main ones I listen to:

• Network Security Podcast
• Mostly current events and news. My favorite segment is "C-Level"- used to be called, "Dealing with the Suits" - how to deal with management.
  
• Security Now
• Very detailed explanations of specific security topics. I think the first 50 or so should be mandatory listening for the Intro class.
  
• Pauldotcom
• News and current events with commentary and analysis. Authors of Wireless hacking books. These guys are pretty funny too.
  
• Security Round Table
• Martin McKay from Network Security Podcast host a discussion with people in the business. This is a really good podcast if your interested in working in the Network Security field.
  

I can't say any one of them is better than the other. I've learned something from each show and each episode I listened to.

Throughout these classes, I've had an occasional thought: I wonder what an Operating System designed by Smith and Wesson would look like.

Cooler

After all this time working on computers, I have yet to replace a CPU cooling system. I've taken a few CPU's out, and have a few extra laying around, but I'd never replaced a CPU cooling system. Until this week.

We got in a nice 1.8 GHz Intel P4 machine. Each time I tried to wipe the hard drive, it froze. I replaced the memory, still the freeze happened. When I examined the machine again, I notice the CPU heat sink was loose. Not good. The heat couldn't conduct from the CPU to the sink. That was causing the freeze. I got out my thermal paste, and went for my first try at fixing it. I used the instructions from this video:

All went well till I tried to put the fan on the sink. The fan was what locked the sink to the motherboard. The fan and the sink just wouldn't stay seated. I looked again, and found the fan connector attached to the motherboard was broken. Luckily, I had a few of the same model in the Free Geek CPU/Heat sink and fan collection. I replaced the connector, and tried again. This time, it worked perfectly. Booted the computer up, and it was ready to go. Dbaned the hard drive, installed Ubuntu as OEM, and it's ready for it's new home.

Machines that we get in over 1 GHz go to volunteers. Volunteers basically get the best of the equipment. They can use use best of what comes in to upgrade their hardware. Machines under 1 GHz are absolutely free for FreekBox recipients. An 800 MHz machine with 256 mb ram and Xubuntu installed runs just fine. With 512 mb ram installed, it feels like a new machine. As long as the user has no mission-critical Windows applications they need to use, the machine is as good as anything on the shelf today. It might be a bit slower if you try to do any deep level photo work or video editing, but other than that, it's more than fast enough.

As a bonus for my efforts this week: I finally figured out how to network our printers. It was much easier than I though it would be. No more USB thumbdrive to print things.

Another Wireless Booster

I found another site about creating a wireless antenna booster. I'm not sure if it's actually any better than the Windsurfer. It may be, but it looks harder to make. I can knock out a good Windsurfer in 5 minutes, and really boosts the signal strength. This one take a bit longer. Here's the link to the template:
http://www.techanvil.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/TechAnvil_WiFi_Booster.pdf

And here's the video of how to actually make the TechAnvil WiFi Booster:

My Fully-Installed gOS Review

So I loaded gOS on a test machine:

• 1.0 GHz AMD
• 768 ram
• 20 GB HD
• 32 mb graphics card

The machine had trouble at first booting. I kept getting "Grub Error 15". I may have finally learned how to fix that issue. I checked the jumpers on the hard drive and sure enough they were set to "slave". After putting the jumper in the right place, it booted right up.

gOS is no faster than Ubuntu, but it's prettier. I found gOS to be about the same speed as Ubuntu, but a bit slower than Xubuntu on the same equipment. If speed is an issue, I'd recommend Xubuntu.

It uses Enlightenment e17 window manager. I'm not sure if I really like Enlightenment just yet. I'd have to use it a bit more. After looking over the Enlightenment home page, and the Download page, I see that Enlightenment has a connection to the Darwin project. Now I see why gOS seems close to Mac OSX.

gOS uses Ubuntu as it's underbelly, so everything was familiar for me. The little leaf in the lower left corner is the applications button - not unlike the Windows Start button on XP, or the Window button on Vista. But, the icons at the bottom of the desktop respond like Mac OSX dock icons. they can be resized to be smaller -which I did. Looked much better. Most of the Ubuntu programs are there, maybe in a few different application menu places. The settings and system menu took some getting use to. The close, minimize, and maximize buttons are in the same place as OSX in the window manager, and program windows. OpenOffice.org, GIMP, and the regularly installed Ubuntu apps are there along with the links to the Web 2.0 apps on the 'dock'.

If I were setting up a box for someone between 16-22, I'd probably use gOS. It's OSX like interface (thanks Darwin) will be familiar for some of them. The Web 2.0 links on the 'dock' are an extra bonus -Google, Blogger, FaceBook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Gmail, Skype, and others are just what most people in that age group uses. The people at gOS looked at 'what do people use' as the factor for what goes in the system. I'd add a link to Flickr myself.

If you're a kid putting together used computers, or putting a used computer together for a kid, gOS is probably the way to go. Personally, I'd wait till gOS 2.0 -If that's how they're going with their numbering scheme.

I really like the green them, though. Good touch.

The Wrong Direction?

Wal Mart is now selling an Everex gPC. This computer is made with a mini ITX motherboard, much like what's found in a Mac Mini, but Everex put it in a bigger box. Seems people like big better. And, they use a specific version of Ubuntu called gOS.

I decided to download the gOS LiveCD and give it a try. After rebooting my computer, the "Start or Install gOS" options menu appeared. Same as ED/K/X/Ubuntu, including an OEM installation. I use the OEM installations for Free Geek Central Florida.

If you look close, the desktop seems to be Google-centric, and a bit OSX-like in the interface. The green leaf at the lower left is like a 'start' button on Windows, but the rest of the icons across the bottom work like the OSX doc. Checking out the menus, it seems gOS kept most of the programs that came with Ubuntu, so things like Pidgin and OpenOffice.org are there.

gOS is a pretty desktop. Simple to use, and has most of the stuff teens and college age kids use. It would be a excellent OS for a one of them.

Even though I was using the LiveCD version, and not installed to the hard drive, gOS seemed slower than Ubuntu on the LiveCD. I'll eventually install it to a hard drive to see what it's like, and I'll report back.

Overall, I like the look and feel of gOS and may even use it in some Free Geek Central Florida installations.

gOS has come to the forefront as it's the installed system on an Everex gPC sold at Wal Mart for under $200. From what I understand, the Everex gPC is only sold on the Wal Mart online store, and not in the Supercenters quite yet. ZaReason sells the Everex gPC too. Looking over the specifications of the gPC, it's not bad for the price.

The major advantage of the gPC is energy use. Supposed the machine averages just 2 watts of power consumption. I'm not sure what they mean by averages. It's possible that if I kept my computer off when I'm not using it, I might average 2 watts.

I'm glad to see another Linux distribution -especially a pretty one- and especially glad it's based on Ubuntu/Debian since I'm use to those. I'm glad they included the OEM installation in the options.

What I'm concerned about is what seems like a step backwards as far as hardware goes. I'm probably wrong on this, if their claims of energy consumption are correct. The VIA processor the gPC uses is a 1.5 GHz C7-D. The processor seems to really focus on performance per watt, and have a max of 20 watts of usage. With Linux, you don't need the latest superfast hardware to get your computer working well. And 512 MB ram is enough for most machines, and most people, so a computer like this is excellent.

What I'm concerned about is why I'm working on Free Geek here:

• There are thousands of perfectly good computers pushed aside for upgrades.
• Those computers are often just sitting in a closet, or worse, in a landfill.
• There are computers that get discarded simply because one part stops working. It's sometimes cheaper to get a new computer, so people don't get repairs done.
• In Florida alone, there is about 3-5 workable computers available for every man, woman and child living here.

Maybe having a computer like this, along with a restoration program like Free Geek is ideal, but I don't see it just yet. It seems we should focus on getting usable hardware into people's hands first, and use those for their lifecycle.

Everex is suppose to be coming out with a low cost, low power laptop with gOS installed pretty soon. That would be something that might be a good idea.

Flights of Nancy

Nancy's book is AVAILABLE NOW!

Switch

In the matter of 4 hours, I switched out Nancy's computer for a recent donation.

The old computer:

• Compaq Presario 5004US
• 1.1 GHz AMD Athlon (I think)
• 1024 mb RAM
• 16 mb AGP graphics card

The New Computer

• 1.6 GHz AMD AthlonXP
• 1034 mb RAM
• 64 mb AGP Graphics card

I was using the Newer computer for 'access' at the other house, with the super wireless setup I did. The problem was the computer came with only 354 mb DDR memory. I finally got some more DDR memory, and could boost Nancy's computer up.

Now, the thing Linux can do that Windows simply can't is; take the hard drive out of a computer, put it in another computer, and work. With Windows, that just don't happen. At least, I've never seen it happen. When this happens to a hard drive with Windows on it, Window says, "Oh my G-d! What happened? Where am I? I don't know what to do. I'll just freak out now." If this happens to Linux, Linux says, "Oh, how interesting. I'm in a new place. Let's look around a bit. Different processor, we can use that. Different memory, no problem. Different graphics card, we'll get that to work after we've moved in." In the matter of 2 minutes, Ubuntu Linux had moved to another computer with no problem. I was even able to move the hard drive in the New computer to the Older computer with only a minor adjustment.

Yesterday, I helped a friend with his laptop. He had a Toshiba, Intel Celeron, 512 mb RAM, with Microsoft Vista installed. I asked myself, "Why would any company sell a computer with Vista with only 512 mb ram?" The thing ran like a slug. We could barely rescue his data, as Vista wouldn't burn a CD, or recognize the USB jumpdrive he had. After emailing himself the data to his gmail, we installed Ubuntu. Major difference. Much faster. Wireless works, and everything he needed installed automatically. The only problem I have to work on is an issue getting his sound to work.

I've come to the conclusion that Microsoft is paying major money to Adobe and Intuit to NOT produce any prominent Adobe program (Photoshop) or Intuit to produce Quickbooks for Linux. If that happen, Windows would have some serious problems.

If GIMP and GNUCash can get to the level of Photoshop and Quickbooks, small companies might be willing to make the switch.

Not Much

I haven't posted much lately, mostly because I haven't had much worth writing about. You already heard I dropped my HTML class. I have A's in all my other classes though. School is much less stressful now. I'm still learning HTML, though. I use the books I have, and some of the online tutorials I found.

We took the dogs to the Fleet Peeples Dog Park yesterday. They were so glad to get back there. Wore themselves completely out.

My Stepson is going to be a papa soon. Life comes at you fast. No parachute here.

The Free Geek Central Florida team is working hard to get the by-laws, articles of incorporation, and application for 501c3 status going. Lots of work. This is going to be my only volunteer organization I'll be working with for a few years. After all, I started it.

Oh, and Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard? Wait a bit. Some security issues to iron out. Cool functionality and effects, but some vulnerabilities. All systems have vulnerabities; Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix. Doesn't matter. If a hacker really wants in, they'll get in. That is, if there's something worth getting in for. And no, your personal bank account number isn't really worth it. Your banks bank account number? That's worth getting. Your bank's database? Yep. The database where you work? Probably.

Funny thing is; your biggest security problem is not your computer.

It's your garbage.

Dropped

The HTML class got to me. Go figure. Not Advanced Security, or Windows Server, but HTML.

The problem for me was threefold:

1. The delivery of the material - The Thomson Course Technology books aren't the best, even though they are way too expensive. The delivery of the material in the HTML and XHTML course book isn't very well thought out.
2. The amount of the content - The amount of work the html class has to do is not really that bad, as long as you're not taking any other classes. Or working.
   
3. Transitions - The content literally goes from here's a header tag, here's a body tag, this is a paragraph tag. Now make a website with a floating image map. No exaggeration.

Basically, the class is okay, if you already know html. I'll take the class again next semester, but after I've already learned html. Then I won't have to learn AND do the work.

So, I dropped the class. Yeah, it bothers me. I can honestly say I gave it my all. Ask Nancy. It still bothers me. I wish I'd been able to keep up.

I can accept my limitations, but they still suck.

Gutsy So Far

So, I'm liking Gutsy:

• Wireless stuff just works. In Fiesty, five of the wireless gadgets I have wouldn't work. In Gutsy, they all work, but on the newer model Belkin PCI card, it works for about a minute, then you get the 'server not responding' messege in Firefox for every website. The card appears to be working, but no longer connecting. I intend on trying it again, in a different machine.
• My Laptop fan spins much less. I'm guessing this has to do with power control
• Laptop battery goes the distance, out-of-the-box! One hour is about the best this computer ever did with WindowsXP, and 1 hour 20 minutes is the best Feisty did with some CPU throttling. With Edgy, I only got 5 minutes, if that. With Gutsy, I still get one hour, but I don't have to do any funky throttling.
• Screen fonts look better. I have no idea why. Others have noticed it too.
• OpenOffice.org starts up way faster out-of-the-box. Sure, I can do somethings to get it to start faster on any distro, but why bother?
• Pages seem to load faster in Firefox. I don't know if that's Ubuntu or Firefox's doing. I suspect Firefox.

Those are the primary things I've noticed.

Other things of note:
Openproj

Openproj is a Microsoft Project-like application, but for far less money. Free is far less money. They have a new .deb package installer on their download page, for Debian based Linux distros - which Ubuntu is one of. I installed it, and it works perfect.

Project Management is a skill I'll need to acquire. In fact, many people will need to acquire it in the future. One piece of software will not make you a good project manager, but having a free one to use will help. I highly recommend doing an iTunes -or other podcast client- search for project management, and learning as much as you can about it.

I have found a site I wish every computer user would view: Securitycartoon.com
Security cartoon teaches the average user why you need to do certain things to protect yourself and your information. The how will change over time, but the why is very important. Here's a sample about anti virus software:

Reproduced with permission. Please visit www.SecurityCartoon.com for more material