Solaris, Sun, and Xubuntu

A few weeks ago, I attempted to install Solaris 10 on an older dual 450 MHz SunSPARK ultra workstation. The idea was to learn Solaris. As it turns out, Solaris is basically a fancified Unix with a greatly modified Gnome desktop. I played with Solaris for a few hours, the installed Kubuntu on it. Kubuntu is nice, but I'm not a KDE fan. I have nothing against it. I just prefer the Gnome desktop. I know Linus Torvalds likes KDE, but it's just not for me. I'm glad there's alternative desktops though. I uninstalled Kubuntu, and installed Xubuntu on the Sun Workstation. Solaris 10 and Kubuntu ran like cold syrup on that system, but Xubuntu worked just fine. Solaris 10 and Kubuntu ran like cold syrup on that system, but Xubuntu worked just fine.

When Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon comes out in October (the 10 refers to October, and 7 refers to 2007 - good number scheme), I'm considering installing the Xubuntu version on my Laptop (it's more of a portable desktop). Xubuntu is fast on older hardware, really fast on new hardware, and it's what I'll be installing on most Free Geek systems. I know how it works fairly well, but it might help to be much more familiar with it.

My experience with Puppy Linux on really old systems (like a Pentium 200 MHz) gives me the idea to try doing a basic command line installation (server), and install IceWM on top. IceWM is the desktop interface for Puppy. This way, I might be able to keep consistent to the Ubuntu/Debian base systems, and have a uniform upgrade method for those older system. The disadvantage would be that the people working on distributions like Puppy and DSL have done a really good job of figuring out what works best on older hardware. That, and some of the newer Linux kernels don't work well on older hardware.

On second though, maybe I'll stick with Puppy on those old systems.

The iPhone comes out this Friday. I won't be rushing down to the AT&T store to get one. Far too expensive. That, and I'd rather wait for the iPhone 2.0 to come out. Besides; what I have right now works just fine. Well, at least it does when my bill is paid.

Errand Caution

I've decided to change my name to Errand Caution. People name Errand seem to get all the action. Everyone has to do Errand, or has Errands to do. I've known girls named Erin, and a guy named Arron, but neither of them got as much action as I thought they did. Well, maybe Erin did, and I just never knew. Arron, however, was butt ugly. Then again, girls seems to go for the caveman look.

Also, many people like to err on the side of Caution. I haven't known anyone name Caution either, but now they'll be erring on my side. Then again, too many people throw Caution to the wind. I like hang gliding, but not sure about being thrown into it. Maybe I'll stick with my own name: Emperor Daniel.

At the moment, storage and recycling are my biggest concerns. At least as far as Free Geek of Central Florida goes. Well, that and getting a job. But, I've got to get the A+ certification for that. Recycling is going to be a big concern when we get the full Free Geek chapter going. There are very few recycling solutions in the Orlando area. I'll probably have to work out some sort of shipping method, eventually. The Free Geek in Portland breaks all unusable components down to their basic parts, and sells the materials; aluminum, steel, plastic, etc. Recycling old CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors is really difficult. They contain mercury and lead. Explains why they're so heavy, I guess. I use a 21" CRT monitor. While it's not great on my eyes, it gives a better color picture than LCD does. Unless as good used LCD comes across my Free Geek path, I'll keep using this one till it's dead.

That's a big part of the Free Geek idea; use things through their entire life cycle. Maybe Windows was un-Godly slow on your old Pentium 200 MHz machine, but Puppy Linux runs it just fine. A wee bit of getting used to, with only needing to click things once, but other than than, not much different that Windows 98. It's not a speed demon, but it's more than fast enough for someone to use.

The Free Geeks around the country operated a bit differently, depending on their unique circumstance. Free Geek Vancouver, for instance, didn't have a regular place for quite awhile, and operated with independent people. It seems Free Geek Chicago operated in the back of another warehouse. I'll probably have to follow those models at first, doing the independent Free Geek "agent" at first. We'll have to do some sort of collaborative work at first, until a storage solution can happen, and eventually a storefront of some sort.

Right now, I'm simply giving the systems away. Most of the Free Geek chapters do some sort of volunteer thing, enabling people to use sweat equity to get their system. In Portland, they work on five computers, and they get to keep the sixth one. They also have the 'adoption' program, where people can purchase a rebuilt, refurbished computer for $50 or under. For now, I have to keep giving them away, until I can create a volunteer program.

The way I envision it; with the help of volunteer instructors, a volunteer can build a really nice computer, taking the best of the materials available. The computers they build will go to the 'adoption' program, or computer labs we'll help build. Buy coming in and working on the machines themselves, they earn the right to the best of the bunch, using the best parts available. While some computers will fall into the 'adoption' program, I'll probably still give away any computer that under 800 MHz. Something like a 600 MHz machine, with 128 ram loaded with an OEM installation of Xubuntu will be completely free. This way, the user can trade a bit of slowness for something that's absolutely free. In reality, I'll probably be able to make most of those computers have 256 ram. With Xubuntu, those are still pretty fast machines.

More on Old vs New

Latest Ubuntu Laptop screenshot:

New hardware is easy. Everything is design to just work. Plug it in, boot back up, and away it goes. With somethings, you don't even have to power down or boot back up. With USB and Firewire, but plug it in and go. New hardware is fast, fun, and easy. But it doesn't teach you much.

Older hardware teaches you how computers actually work. You have much more configuring you have to do.

When I'm working on a Free Geek computer, I have to make some choices. I prefer to work on the best equipment first, and give them the best of the extra hardware I have available. Make a good machine run even better. Ideally, working with one of these machine won't take more than 2 hours (most of that involving wiping the hard drive clean):

1. Check and clean the hardware
2. Boot and Nuke the hard drive (makes a clean install much cleaner)
3. Add in extra hardware
4. Load Ubuntu or Xubuntu on as an OEM installation
5. Update the system
   
6. Add any more programs/packages I think should be on (like Ubuntu Extras)
7. Add extra artwork, if necessary or desirable
   
8. Write out an index card of the machine and installation -stick it in the A-drive slot
9. Right before the machine goes out, I update the system and software, then do "sudo oem-config-prepare" and the machine is ready for a new user

This sequence gets quicker each time I do it, especially with newer hardware. If I'm using a hard drive that's already wiped clean, I can do all the above in less than an hour. But sometimes an older system comes in, and steps 2, 3, and 4 are difficult at best. Part of me doesn't like to be beat, and I want to make whatever is in front of me work. But, sometimes the hardware just isn't worth it. It's just too old.

When we give out a free geek machine, we also help support it for a year. If something goes wrong, and we can't fix it in fifteen minutes, we just give the user a new machine. Better than most support agreements, wouldn't you say? Just like any operating system, it takes a new user about three months to adapt. People who work with technology on a daily basis might need a week or two of support at best. I'm looking for a 'remote assistance' solution on Ubuntu to help me with that. I know they exist, but I've been too lazy to look them up, much less figure how they work.

When I'm trying to get a system working, if it's older and it takes longer that 30 minutes to do step 3 and 4, it's just not worth doing. I can only bother to learn so much about older hardware. If it's the last one that I have, I might play with it. But if I have other systems waiting for an installation, I move on. If a system is under 500 Mhz, the rebuild has to go smooth and easy, or it's not worth spending the time on. I can get something even as low as 200 MHz working, but the machine will probably never be used. If I could figure how to get it to a country where it might be used, I would. When I can do something like that, I might. Most of the equipment I get in is in the 400 MHz - 900 MHz range. Xubuntu is the primary installation I use for those machines. If something is 800 MHz or higher, and I have enough memory around to load 512 MB ram on, I'll load Ubuntu. Occasionally, I'll get a machine in that's over 1 GHz. To the victor......