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Raw Paleo Diet Forums => Off Topic => Topic started by: xylothrill on June 06, 2008, 03:55:05 am

Title: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 06, 2008, 03:55:05 am
My faithful, dependable mac's hard drive bit the dust yesterday. It wouldn't boot OSX or Windows and disk utilities could not fix it. That thing served me well for four years, it must have been. Since there's not an Apple store near me and I don't have the patience to wait for one to be delivered, I decided to go with a cheap E-machine. Vista's a lot faster than it was on my old mac but it's still not as fast as OSX was. I'll have to work on getting Linux installed on this thing. In the mean time, I'm going to be restoring everything I had on that computer by hand. Thankfully, I'd written all my login and passwords down or I'd be SOL! Back-ups on the same hard drive are no good when that hard drive is fried.

Now, if I had invested a lot in Mac programs, I'd probably have gotten another Mac but thank God for free software! That's usually all I've ever needed.

Satya,
I know you use Linux. It's been a very long time, maybe a decade, since I've used it. Which distribution do you use and which GUI? I've used Gnome and KDE.

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on June 06, 2008, 05:25:27 am
Satya,
I know you use Linux. It's been a very long time, maybe a decade, since I've used it. Which distribution do you use and which GUI? I've used Gnome and KDE.

I feel for you. :(

I use Mandriva, KDE.  I'm mostly happy with it.  I thought about Debian, but I am so used to the other that I probably won't switch anytime soon.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 10, 2008, 11:59:57 am
I tried to do a net install of Debian but it doesn't appear to support wireless network adapters. :-(
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on June 11, 2008, 04:50:32 am
Didn't they have a hardware compatability list at the download site?  Is the adapter brand-spanking new on the market?  As you know, Linux, being open source, is dependent on a team of dedicated programmers to come up with drivers to support new hardware.  Whereas most hardware makers think only of MS operating systems, systems so insecure and shoddy that they need to install regular updates to fix stuff for which they never tested.  Search and see if their aren't drivers for it. 

Look into Mandriva too.  It has a new release as of April, it's very easy to configure, and is software developer friendly.  Both distributions have many of the same programs.

Dust yourself off and try again, try again.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 11, 2008, 10:43:19 am
That had occurred to me actually. The cheap computer I bought is not top-of-the-line but it is new. I suppose the network adapter is pretty new too.
I tried installing Debian on the 4 year old mac but alas even linux is finding problems with the hard drive.

Mandriva starts to boot from the DVD on both computers but then hangs. I suppose I'll just suffer with microsoft until the Linux drivers catch up. I'll search to see if there are new drivers not included with the current distributions but then. I'd have to use Debian. I have only the core installed so I'd have to install the drivers from the command prompt. I can do it if there are good instructions. Once I get internet access, I can download the rest of the packages from the installer.

Thanks for your help!

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 18, 2008, 12:57:23 am
I've FINALLY found a distribution that would install. It's Kubuntu! I'm amazed at how far linux has come! It installed, and then updated itself. If I want to install a program I just browse through adept, pick what I want and poof! It gets installed like magic! Way better than Microsoft. More secure and no worries about viruses. You can also work with two windows side by side without all of the other ones coming forward.

Thanks for turning me back on to Linux!

Craig

Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: lex_rooker on June 18, 2008, 01:33:26 am
Craig,
I've considered moving to Linux, however I've been concerned about support for the programs I use often like Photo Shop, Visio, Real Player, Quick Time, Adobe Acrobat, not to mention the entire MS office suite, Word/Excel/and others.    Have you had any problems here?
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on June 18, 2008, 02:22:03 am
Good deal, Craig.  I will look into that distribution ... sounds very Paleo <g>.  Yeah, no worries about viruses and all that.  I mean, the whole set up is so much safer than MS.  However, Fedora is by far the most secure distribution afaik.  I am now leaning towards that on my main pc.  I have 2 networked together and the other has XP and the new Mandriva.  I can have it all!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora_%28operating_system%29#Security_features
"One of the security features in Fedora is Security-Enhanced Linux, a Linux feature that implements a variety of security policies, including mandatory access controls, through the use of Linux Security Modules (LSM) in the Linux kernel. Fedora is one of the distributions leading the way with SELinux.[19] SELinux was introduced in Fedora Core 2. It was disabled by default, as it radically altered how the operating system worked, but was enabled by default in Fedora Core 3 and introduced a less strict, targeted policy.[20][21]

"Fedora also has methods in place to prevent buffer overflow exploits and root kits from functioning. Compile time buffer checks, Exec Shield and restrictions on how kernel memory in /dev/mem can be accessed help to prevent this.[22]"

Lex, Flash does not support Linux for a 64 bit cpu.  If we would have gone with the 32 bit version of the os, all would be well.  That is what we'll do next time.  All other programs are fine, even my Java IDE has a Linux version.  And as more and more people go with it, the more it will be supported.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 18, 2008, 02:24:34 am
Hi Lex,

I suggest going to mandriva.com and downloading the Mandriva One live CD.
You can then boot from the CD and check out the gimp and office programs.

You could also easily install Linux on your free space and have a dual boot system.

I got it installed right before going to work so I didn't have the time to check out all the program thoroughly. I'll do that tonight when I get home.

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 19, 2008, 12:27:07 am
Good deal, Craig.  I will look into that distribution ... sounds very Paleo <g>.  Yeah, no worries about viruses and all that.  I mean, the whole set up is so much safer than MS.  However, Fedora is by far the most secure distribution afaik.  I am now leaning towards that on my main pc.  I have 2 networked together and the other has XP and the new Mandriva.  I can have it all!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora_%28operating_system%29#Security_features
"One of the security features in Fedora is Security-Enhanced Linux, a Linux feature that implements a variety of security policies, including mandatory access controls, through the use of Linux Security Modules (LSM) in the Linux kernel. Fedora is one of the distributions leading the way with SELinux.[19] SELinux was introduced in Fedora Core 2. It was disabled by default, as it radically altered how the operating system worked, but was enabled by default in Fedora Core 3 and introduced a less strict, targeted policy.[20][21]

"Fedora also has methods in place to prevent buffer overflow exploits and root kits from functioning. Compile time buffer checks, Exec Shield and restrictions on how kernel memory in /dev/mem can be accessed help to prevent this.[22]"

Lex, Flash does not support Linux for a 64 bit cpu.  If we would have gone with the 32 bit version of the os, all would be well.  That is what we'll do next time.  All other programs are fine, even my Java IDE has a Linux version.  And as more and more people go with it, the more it will be supported.

Kubuntu does sound paleo and it means "towards humanity" in the African language Memba and it means "free" in Kirundi!  Kubuntu is the KDE version of Ubuntu, which means "humanity to others"
This distribution was started by a wealthy South African man who's aim is to spread linux. He or Canonical, his company will send out free CDs. You pay nothing. He foots the bill for the CD and even the postage. He also funds development of this distribution.

As for security, I'd be willing to bet that even a four-year-old distribution of the least secure Linux distribution would still be far more secure than anything Microsoft offers right now.

I've opted for a dual boot system with Vista only because I need iTunes to update and sync my iPhone. I hear it can run under Wine (windows emulator) I'm downloading it as I type. I'll let you know if it works.

Lex,
Do you have a 64 bit processor?

Satya,
Is it possible to install the 32 bit version on a 64 bit computer?

My old Mac has a intel core duo. Those processors are 64 bit but it's disabled. It save them money from not having to develop two different chipsets. So, they can charge more for the 64 bit even though it's the same exact chip!

Craig

Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 19, 2008, 12:48:13 am
Craig,
I've considered moving to Linux, however I've been concerned about support for the programs I use often like Photo Shop, Visio, Real Player, Quick Time, Adobe Acrobat, not to mention the entire MS office suite, Word/Excel/and others.    Have you had any problems here?

Lex,
I have checked out Open Office and the Gimp. They look feature rich but I don't normally use these types of programs much. I know there are tons of plug-ins for the Gimp. http://www.gimp.org/about/introduction.html

Visio ----> Kisio
Acrobat has a linux version
Microsoft Office ---> Open Office  http://why.openoffice.org/why_great.html
Real Player has a linux version
Quicktime-----> Quicktime 4 Linux http://heroinewarrior.com/quicktime.php3

Also, Firefox has built-in spell checking so you won't have any problems posting on sites without a spell-checker. It's very easy to use. The misspelled word becomes underlined in red. You simply right click on it and choose one of the recommended words.

You can download a live demo CD here: http://www.mandriva.com/ When you get the time, try it out. I'd like to know what you think. I liked the look and feel of Mandriva but Kubuntu was the only one up to date enough to run on this computer. It's growing on me though and I do like the name - sounds like something a caveman would say. 

If you do decide to install it. I'd recommend keeping your windows partition and installing it on the free space. It will install the boot loader of your choice so when starting up your computer you'll be prompted to choose which OS to boot up. If you're not there, it'll time out and boot the default OS. Make sure you back up any important files before installing just in case. You might want to defragment your hard drive first so that the free space will be contiguous for the linux partition.

I hope it works for you!

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: lex_rooker on June 19, 2008, 01:31:05 am
Craig,
Thanks for the info.  Looks like most of the bases are covered, however I'm a huge user of Photo Shop.  Any idea if there is a similar product available for Linux?
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 19, 2008, 01:44:10 am
Lex,

Sorry I forgot to mention that the Gimp is the Photo Shop equivalent http://www.gimp.org/
Craig
(http://nwclug.org/demos/apr.1.2008/gimp-svg-import.png)
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 20, 2008, 01:32:26 am
Satya,

Have you tried Gnash for your 64 bit computer? It's a flash clone that is 64 bit compatible.

http://wiki.gnashdev.org/Gnash It's still in beta but they say you can at least see youtube videos with it.

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on June 20, 2008, 02:48:49 am
Is it possible to install the 32 bit version on a 64 bit computer?

Yes, it is possible.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on June 20, 2008, 02:56:04 am

Have you tried Gnash for your 64 bit computer? It's a flash clone that is 64 bit compatible.

http://wiki.gnashdev.org/Gnash It's still in beta but they say you can at least see youtube videos with it.

Craig

Craig, thanks.  No, I wasn't familiar with that.  I think Mandriva has something like that too, but I think it didn't work right or something when I tried.  We shall see what Fedora has included too.  I'd like to be able to use the full capabilities of my machine.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: lex_rooker on June 20, 2008, 09:23:36 am
I had Linux years ago when it first started.  Today's version is sure a far cry from what I was running in 1990s, but it still seems to require a bit of fussing about to find drivers and compatible programs.    Now that I'm retired I just want something that runs the programs I use with the least hassle.

I'm actually considering a Mac.  Craig, If money were no object would you have replaced your Mac instead of going with Linux?  The latest Macbook Pro looks pretty good.  Mac's also have really good support for running windows inside OS X with very little performance hit.

Just trying to find the best fit,

lex
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on June 20, 2008, 10:31:30 am
I had Linux years ago when it first started.  Today's version is sure a far cry from what I was running in 1990s, but it still seems to require a bit of fussing about to find drivers and compatible programs.    Now that I'm retired I just want something that runs the programs I use with the least hassle.

Linux might require a tech savvy person if the hardware is brand new.  If not, Linux will be the better choice as all the hardware will be supported.

I'm actually considering a Mac.  Craig, If money were no object would you have replaced your Mac instead of going with Linux?  The latest Macbook Pro looks pretty good.  Mac's also have really good support for running windows inside OS X with very little performance hit.

Mac makes you take all hardware as one package; you can't build your own, and it all must be Apple in order to work right.  And that's why it's stable.  But it's a bloody rip off in this day and age.  The bottom of the line iMac is pretty comparable to the pc we bought our son for Christmas (though his has more umph in places), yet we paid less than half the money for it.  If you have a good chunk of change, the Mac is a good choice, as all that software that you have to buy along with the hardware is insanely expensive.  Linux is free and runs on a home-built, high-end pc.  We spend about $500 for the good hardware guts that we can pick and choose for best value/performance and get the software for free.

It's kind of like your jerky contraption.  It's easy and expensive for me to use my Excalibur dehydrator that cost $100.  And you make your own dehydrator for pennies that works the same.  Mac is like the Excalibur.  It's a big chunk for what it actually is.  With a bit of research and some home installation, you can do the same thing for much less.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 20, 2008, 11:07:59 am
 Lex,

I'm amazed at how far Linux has come. It installed my network adapter driver and my video card driver automatically. On windows I had to install them.

 If money weren't an issue or if I had invested in a lot of expensive software, I would have gotten another Mac. Then, I'd probably have made it a dual boot mac/linux system. My old one was a dual boot mac/vista system but I never used the vista.

The only time I had to restart my mac was when I'd get system updates and I could put that off however long I wanted to. I never had to restart it after installing a program. You download the program, it shows up as a mounted CD. You drag the icon from the virtual cd to the applications folder (or wherever you want really) and it's installed. You "eject" the virtual CD and it disappears. That's it! Some programs do come with their own installers but I don't think they're necessary. You won't be disappointed! It'll take a little getting used to. I still find myself looking for window menus or going for the left side of the window to close it. You'll get used to it and you'll love it.

Another factor in not going with a mac was time. I didn't want to drive all the way to Tampa or Miami to an Apple store and I didn't want to wait for a delivery. I'm a computer addict, you know! I was going through withdrawals. :-)

Since Apple switched over to intel chips, there is no need for an emulator, which is what really slows things down. Windows can run natively within the Mac OS.

One thing about Macs that I don't like is their Safari browser. I would go with Firefox instead.  The primary reason is that I like to hover over a link , look down at the bottom and see where the link is going to take me before I click on it. Safari doesn't do that. Firefox also warns you of impostor sites and phishing sites so you can avoid them.

Craig

Craig


Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on June 20, 2008, 11:17:55 am
PS.  I usually buy components and such from tigerdirect.com.  They have some great deals.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 20, 2008, 11:19:20 am
Oh come on. We all know he wants a mac for the status symbol...like driving a beemer as opposed to ford pinto.  ;D
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on June 20, 2008, 11:24:55 am
Oh come on. We all know he wants a mac for the status symbol...like driving a beemer as opposed to ford pinto.  ;D

Maybe the Mac is a status symbol with the artsy fartsy crowd who watches too many commercials.  Real men want a good bang for their buck. ;)
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 20, 2008, 11:41:46 am
Maybe I should get a $25 hard drive, put it in my mac, install Linux with a really good OS X theme. Then sell it for $500!   Just kidding of course.   ;)
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: lex_rooker on June 20, 2008, 01:11:41 pm
Thanks for the input.  The reason I'd consider a mac is that it is a complete package that I don't have to muck with.  All the hardware and software work together seamlessly.  I'd have to learn the ins and outs of the operating system but then if I move to Vista I'd have to do the same thing.

I know XP and it's foybles pretty well. Like an old shoe it's comfortable.  Unfortunatley there's also a hole or two in the sole and I occasionally have to put up with a blister or two.

Linux would require mucking with both hardware and completely new software.  When you are dependent on things like Photo Shop the also-ran programs just don't measure up.  I've also read that USB support can get messy and everything I have is USB -printer, scanner, photo printer, external audio processor, midi interface, digitizing pad, keyboard, Kurzweil keyboard,  - the works.  I have 6 USB ports on my current PC and two additional 7 port expanders.  All but 2 ports are used.  Also, my internet connection uses a PCI to PCMCIA cardbus32 adapter as I use an EVDO Sprint Wireless card as my only internet access.  I'm just not sure Linux had drivers and support for all this stuff.  As it is Mac just recently included support for the EVDO Wireless card.

Lex
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on June 20, 2008, 09:05:39 pm
USB is no problem with Linux now, but finding drivers and such can be a chore.  A mac is probably the best choice for you.  And, um, I was only joking about the "real men" comment.

Does anyone else find XP to be painfully slow to boot up?  I have noticed this on all the pcs I have ever used with it.  How does the osx compare? 
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 20, 2008, 10:47:16 pm
Does anyone else find XP to be painfully slow to boot up?  I have noticed this on all the pcs I have ever used with it.  How does the osx compare? 
OS X Is a lot faster to boot than Vista and I hear Vista is even slower than XP. . OS X is a lot faster to install as well.

 
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on June 20, 2008, 11:09:11 pm
OS X Is a lot faster to boot than Vista and I hear Vista is even slower than XP. . OS X is a lot faster to install as well.


That's good to know.  Of course, the faster processors are faster, but Linux loads faster than XP on the same machine.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: lex_rooker on June 20, 2008, 11:36:49 pm
And, um, I was only joking about the "real men" comment.
That's nothing.  You should here the comments I get when people see my needle point.  At times I felt like calling on Rosey Greer (another famous needle pointer) to defend my honor. ;)   Don't do it much anymore.  Most of my work is in petty point which is about 500 stitches to the square inch.  After age 50 it became a strain to see stuff that small.

Lex
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 22, 2008, 08:03:52 am
That's nothing.  You should here the comments I get when people see my needle point.  At times I felt like calling on Rosey Greer (another famous needle pointer) to defend my honor. ;)   Don't do it much anymore.  Most of my work is in petty point which is about 500 stitches to the square inch.  After age 50 it became a strain to see stuff that small.

Lex


Good for you! Most so-called "real men" would be too embarrassed to admit something like that. You like creating thing so what difference does it make if it's a needle point or hard-core dehydrator? I'm suddenly reminded of The Bear talking about his ballet days. :-) I think any kind of art or dance is Paleo. Traditional peoples still do both, male or female.

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 22, 2008, 08:18:16 am
That's good to know.  Of course, the faster processors are faster, but Linux loads faster than XP on the same machine.

I had OS X and Vista on the same machine. I think one of the reasons OS X is faster is because it's core is BSD Unix and as you mentioned, their hardware and software are virtually inseparable, acting as one. I had never had the OS crash, only a program once in a while.

I'm really liking this linux. All I really need is internet apps. I like this Rythmbox music player. It's just like iTunes but it won't support my iPhone. Linux will only see my iPhone as a camera and I can get pics off it but not sync music. So, iTunes is the only thing I need on windows so I've kept a windows partition until I can figure out a hack or program to take care of that.

Craig

Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: lex_rooker on June 22, 2008, 10:54:54 am
iPhone huh,  I'm a little more than annoyed with Apple for not releasing the iphone to the CDMA world.  I have Sprint and my Company used Verison so even though as a retiree, I can get a great deal with Verizon the iphone only works on the GMS networks.  Oh well, I probably need a new computer first anyway.  My desk top PC was home built about 3 years ago and is beginning to grow long in tooth.  The cooling fan rattles and it's a bit slow.  If you ever saw the movie "12 Angry Men" there is a fan in the jury room that sounds just like my PC....

Lex
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 22, 2008, 11:33:34 am
Apple only went with AT&T because Apple wanted complete control over the advertising, pricing, and promotion of it. AT&T was the only one to agree. The other networks have knock-offs now but the iPhone really is the cream of the crop.

Apple is known for quality so they'd rather have control than to release it to any company that doesn't agree to their terms. In a way it's good but in a way, it's bad.

I used to have Sprint but I either had no service or I was roaming. Finally, I had to set it to permanently roam. Still, they insisted they had towers in the area and I was in their service range. I wasn't too happy with their service. I finally decieded to switch when my razr's screen would work when it wanted to. None of this was a good enough reason to break my contract and if I was going to have to buy a new phone, it was going to be an iPhone.

As for the cooling fan, macs run so cool, they don't need them. At least my mac mini didn't and the laptops and iMacs don't. I'm not sure about the Mac Pros. They might need fans.

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on June 26, 2008, 11:17:48 pm
Well, I've gotten an external usb hard drive for the Mac Mini. Now I have three OS's to choose from.

Mac comes with X11 so you can run linux apps, even KDE and Gnome themselves. All you'll need are the libraries compiled for Darwin. Those apps will look different but they'll run.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: lex_rooker on July 18, 2008, 12:31:20 am
My old Epson Perfection 2450 scanner died so I used the opportunity to get a new one.  After looking at what I really need to do most of the time the choice came down to the Epson V500 or the Canon 8800F.  I finally decided on the Canon and what a great little scanner it is.  It can make multi page PDFs as you scan the documents.  After each scan it asks if you want to add another page to the PDF.  When you say "yes" it prompts for you to scan the next page, when you say "no" it completes the PDF and places it in a folder on your hard drive.  Now this is the way computers should work.

Lex
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on July 18, 2008, 01:12:18 am
My old Epson Perfection 2450 scanner died so I used the opportunity to get a new one.  After looking at what I really need to do most of the time the choice came down to the Epson V500 or the Canon 8800F.  I finally decided on the Canon and what a great little scanner it is.  It can make multi page PDFs as you scan the documents.  After each scan it asks if you want to add another page to the PDF.  When you say "yes" it prompts for you to scan the next page, when you say "no" it completes the PDF and places it in a folder on your hard drive.  Now this is the way computers should work.

Lex

That's exactly how my Epson Stylus Photo RX620 was under Mac OS X. Have you gotten your Mac yet? I haven't tried it under Linux yet. I'm really getting used to this Linux. I've decided to ditch Kubuntu, which uses KDE and go with Ubuntu, which uses Gnome. It just seems more intuitive to me. It seems that Mac users gravitate toward Gnome and Windows users prefer KDE. There are exceptions, of course.

I have a theme going that I like pretty much.I like the little things such as the text box you see up top next to the book. It's a dictionary. I just enter texts, press enter and I have my definition!

Here's a pic of my desktop, which is ironic because I've usually been turned off by the darker themes.


(http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk89/rawpaleoforum/Screenshot-1.png)
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: goodsamaritan on July 18, 2008, 06:18:47 am
Nice looking desktop, Craig.
I've been a linux user since 1998 (I'm a network administrator)
I installed Ubuntu on the computers of my employees.
Did you get Ubuntu pre-installed on your computer?
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on July 18, 2008, 07:17:15 am
Nice looking desktop, Craig.
I've been a linux user since 1998 (I'm a network administrator)
I installed Ubuntu on the computers of my employees.
Did you get Ubuntu pre-installed on your computer?

Edwin,
No, I had to pay hidden royalties for the Vista that came with it. I installed Ubuntu and made it a dual boot system. You can't just go out and by computers pre-loaded with Linux over here - at least not in my area. You usually will have to order them. Satya suggested a site where you can build your own computer without an OS.

I love the repositories! Everything in one spot and installation at the touch of a button. Automatic updates are awesome too. The last two updates increased my start-up and application launch times!

I tried Linux back in the nineties also but found the web browsers incompatible with many web features. Today, that's not the case at all. I can get any kind of browser plug-in that's offered on Mac or Windows and have yet to experience a non-viewable element of a webpage.

Plug and Play wasn't available ten years ago. Now, I plug in my iPhone and it asks me if I want to download new photos.

The forums are full of power-users who make it seem like you need to use the terminal because that's what they know and are used to. The average person won't need to use the terminal but it's nice to know the power is there if you need it. The ONLY thing I need my Mac or Windows for is to sync my iPhone. There are hacks to enable gtkpod to get into the songs on my phone but I choose not to do it. The iPhone is based on OS X and therefore is UNIX. It'd be great if I could install Linux on my iPhone, having it retain its functionality and be able to sync it with Ubuntu but that would probably take time and I haven't read of any plans of that sort. Although, I have read about a couple of Linux powered touch phones out there.

May I see a pic of your Linux desktop? Do you use any other operating systems? The graphic manipulation program you suggested to Nicola was for Windows, wasn't it?

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on July 18, 2008, 08:57:40 am
Satya too!

May I see your Linux desktop too, so long as it shows no personal, identifying features?

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: lex_rooker on July 18, 2008, 10:33:07 am
Craig,
Based on your's and others success with Ubuntu I'm rethinking my strategy.  I'm leaning towards keeping my current desktop running Windows XP Pro for the heavy duty stuff, but getting an ultra portable PC like the Fujitsu P series, Sony TZ series etc and loading Linux.  From what I've read, finger print scanners and other high security stuff don't work but that's no biggie for me.  The idea is for a small portable pc with great battery life for doing e-mail, checking forums, light word processing, paying bills and watching the occasional DVD.  PhotoShop, and other big ticket items would remain on the desktop.

The only thing I'd need to make sure is that my Sierra Wireless 595 card is supported and that the computer has a supported PCMCIA cardbuss slot to plug it into.

Any ideas here?
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: goodsamaritan on July 18, 2008, 11:46:31 am
My office desktop is the boring generic install.
I'm not too keen on customizing my own look.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: goodsamaritan on July 18, 2008, 11:51:05 am
For those who use Linux and from time to time need to use some windows specific programs or gadgets, I have good experiences with VMWARE.
If you are a little tech minded, you can install a 10Gig or 20gig windows install and make it into a vmware appliance.

I regularly run windows xp under my Ubuntu to use the scanner software Epson 660 because the windows driver has a descreen option.

I also do this for my employee because our accounting software subscription in quickbooks online requires windows internet explorer.

See http://www.vmware.com/products/player/

This also works for the opposite, if you have windows and want to try out different linux flavors.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: lex_rooker on July 18, 2008, 12:13:54 pm
Edwin,
Do you have any advice on installing Ubuntu on something like a Fujitsu P8010.  This little pc is not cheap but it has a PCMCIA slot (for my Sprint wireless card), a reasonably sized hard drive, and pretty good battery life.  It seems a good fit assuming I can find drivers for the Sprint card.  I can't find anything on the web regarding putting any flavor of Linux on it.  Help in knowing what to look for would be appreciated.

Lex
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: goodsamaritan on July 18, 2008, 08:41:05 pm
You can visit http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu

Download an Ubuntu CD or request for a free one by mail.
Pop in the Ubuntu CD on your CDROM drive and boot your computer using the Ubuntu CDROM drive.
Ubuntu comes in a LIVE CD, you can run and test drive Ubuntu if it works on your PC in that one little CD.

You can also conveniently try Ubuntu via VMWARE.
I will assume you have windowsXP or Vista.
Download the VMWARE Player for windows at http://www.vmware.com/products/player/
Install VMWARE player.

Download an ubuntu vmware appliance (installed image) to test ubuntu under windows.
http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/1232
Unpack in a directory and run ubuntu via vmware under windows.

Enjoy.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on July 18, 2008, 11:03:30 pm
You can visit http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu

Download an Ubuntu CD or request for a free one by mail.
Pop in the Ubuntu CD on your CDROM drive and boot your computer using the Ubuntu CDROM drive.
Ubuntu comes in a LIVE CD, you can run and test drive Ubuntu if it works on your PC in that one little CD.

I agree that a live CD would be the best way to test for compatibility. If you haven't bought it yet, take the CD and your sprint wireless card with you and ask if you can test it. In the upper right corner it should list wireless networks.

If these are new computers, good luck. Ubuntu was only one of several distributions that would run on my new computer.

I'm not sure about your Sprint wireless card. The only pain with Linux now is getting new unsupported hardware to work.
Read this thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=454596&highlight=sprint+Wireless+595
HoolTool seems to have the easiest method if you feel like going through that.

Craig

 

Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on July 18, 2008, 11:42:09 pm
Satya too!

May I see your Linux desktop too, so long as it shows no personal, identifying features?

Soon.  I am switching to a newer Mandriva next week.  Plus, I have a photo of my son and nephews at the lake on it presently.  Don't want to make that public.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on July 19, 2008, 12:00:13 am
Soon.  I am switching to a newer Mandriva next week.  Plus, I have a photo of my son and nephews at the lake on it presently.  Don't want to make that public.

Cool beans! Is that a corset you're wearing or is your waist really that small?  Tee hee (I almost wrote "waste")

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on July 19, 2008, 12:12:13 am
Cool beans! Is that a corset you're wearing or is your waist really that small?  Tee hee (I almost wrote "waste")

No, it's a denim halter top.  My waist only looks small in comparison to my hips.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on July 19, 2008, 12:17:15 am
My office desktop is the boring generic install.
I'm not too keen on customizing my own look.

That's the default mine came with. Sadly, some people pick a distribution based on the default look.
In the forums, you hear people recommending Beryl, Emerald, Compiz-fusion... making it sound complicated. There are GTK2 themes. All I had to do was download the Moomex theme, drag it to the appearance window, choose it, choose some colors and poof! My new customized desktop. I swear it took less than a minute once I found a theme I liked.
The background of the green anole, I just chose to set as background when viewing it in my browser.

I've been thinking about taking some network administration classes. The economy sucks right now and since I'm a tipped employee, it's reflected in my tips. I don't think I could afford to go part-time and pay for school. At work, they have a windows server and network. They have problems all the time with the administrators having had to work overnight in at least one case I'm aware of.

Craig

Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on July 19, 2008, 12:23:40 am
No, it's a denim halter top.  My waist only looks small in comparison to my hips.

Typical woman! "My waist isn't small, my hips are big." You have a figure many would envy! You're definetly NOT a pear-shaped person! :-) It's more like an hourglass. Your sculpted back sliming down to your waist and rounding back out at your hips. That's what I see. And I'm not just saying that because you're HOT!

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on July 19, 2008, 12:32:19 am
Typical woman! "My waist isn't small, my hips are big." You have a figure many would envy! You're definetly NOT a pear-shaped person! :-) It's more like an hourglass. Your sculpted back sliming down to your waist and rounding back out at your hips. That's what I see. And I'm not just saying that because you're HOT!

So, you think I'm hot?  :D  (Do I get to be a warrior at 200 posts?)
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on July 19, 2008, 12:36:50 am
So, you think I'm hot?  :D  (Do I get to be a warrior at 200 posts?)
There'd be something seriously wrong with me if I didn't! ;)

I don't remember off the top of my head. ???  Make two more and find out, hottie!

OMG! I thought this was in the moderators' section for some reason! Oh well.. I've said worse things on the Yahoo group...

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on July 19, 2008, 12:41:56 am
For those who use Linux and from time to time need to use some windows specific programs or gadgets, I have good experiences with VMWARE.
If you are a little tech minded, you can install a 10Gig or 20gig windows install and make it into a vmware appliance.

VMware rocks.  Anyone planning to be in Vegas in September:

http://www.vmworld2008.com/
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on July 19, 2008, 12:43:26 am
There'd be something seriously wrong with me if I didn't! ;)

I don't remember off the top of my head. ???  Make two more and find out, hottie!

OMG! I thought this was in the moderators' section for some reason! Oh well.. I've said worse things on the Yahoo group...

Wait until I post my "Making Mayo" demonstration for all to see.  :P
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on July 19, 2008, 12:47:51 am
Wait until I post my "Making Mayo" demonstration for all to see.  :P

Warrior Satya! You've made it!

Is the demonstration going to be a video or a pdf type book? I can't wait for that. Are you going to use animal fat instead of vegetable oil? Maybe a saturated tropical oil? If not, I could always alter it but what would I put it on?

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on July 19, 2008, 01:25:36 am
Warrior Satya! You've made it!

Is the demonstration going to be a video or a pdf type book? I can't wait for that. Are you going to use animal fat instead of vegetable oil? Maybe a saturated tropical oil? If not, I could always alter it but what would I put it on?

Video all the way, baby.  I use olive oil, but my ratio of egg yolks to olive oil is much higher than traditional recipes.  The problem with using animal fats is that they solidify and make for a very unappealing texture.  I suppose if you ate all you made and didn't store any, it might work.  Coconut oil is not very appetizing, imo.  I might try lard sometime.  I dunno.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on September 02, 2008, 09:31:24 am
I am installing Fedora right now.  The new Mandriva was flaky.  Fedora has built-in virus protection at the processor level, it encrypts the hard drive, and their installation process is very well-organized and obvious.  Hopefully, all will go well, but I have it on a separate drive, so no worries there. 

I have KDE and Gnome, but the file manager on KDE has a tree structure that is much more intuitive to drill down to than hokie icons, imho.

That's all I have time for now.  I will let you know how I like Fedora soon.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on September 02, 2008, 09:50:50 am
I wish I had made a separate home partition so that I could switch distributions easily. I do miss the tree structure in Gnome's file manager but it'll be coming out in the next release.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on September 14, 2008, 09:13:12 am
Gnome file manager sucks HARD!  I installed fedora finally, and it defaulted to gnome.  Um, it looks fine, and I can install kde apps on gnome and vice versa, but the file manager on gnome is so kindergarten retarded, that I cannot imagine having to work with it.  Ugh, and new windows opening on the hokie folders, no organizational structure whatsoever.  I could not imagine doing business or even personal tasks without the folders on the left, files on the right structure of kde (and windows).  Mench!  I am talking about the second screen shot here:

http://docs.kde.org/stable/en/kdebase-runtime/userguide/file-manager.html

I can drill down without opening any folders with kde.  As a web developer, I would go batshit with gnome's one window of folders, which clicked open more windows, etc. and then 7 subfolders later, I have a gazillion windows open!  I network between my machines.  I can copy a file and paste it into the shared folder in about 5 seconds.  With gnome (a macintosh styled window manager), it would take me FOREVER, and I could still never see the organizational structure of my folders

I have two machines hooked up to one monitor that I switch between here on my desk.  I have xp and mandriva 2008 on one, fedora and the old mandriva on the other.  Once I transfer all the old mandriva stuff, I might try another linux distribution on my regular (fedora) machine.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on September 14, 2008, 09:55:55 am
Then stick with KDE. It's what you're used to but Gnome does have a "tree" view similar to the sidebar.Click view then check "side pane." In my other post, I was thinking of something else when I said 'tree view" I meant the mac style of columns I guess.
Not having tree veiw would drive me crazy too!
It looks like this in Gnome:


Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on September 14, 2008, 10:30:57 am
Yeah, I am sure with enough effort, I could have found something similar in gnome ... maybe.  KDE has the tree view from the start.  It has way more layout options and is much more powerful in general.  For instance, you can get a command line prompt as part of the same window so that you can click on a file, then down in your command prompt, you can see the actual command to change to that directory, then type your own commands at that point and basically have full control of the whole system.  It's just really convenient to combine a graphical and command style thing into one.

Edit: No side pane option in my fedora gnome file manager (at least under "view"), fyi.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on September 14, 2008, 02:14:13 pm
No side pane option? Strange. You could download Konqueror or are you just going to install all of KDE instead? You're a power user. I don't use the command line much so it doesn't bother me. I used it to get access to foreign repositories for instance. Gnome is really meant for the "average" desktop user.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on September 14, 2008, 11:02:57 pm
No side pane option? Strange. You could download Konqueror or are you just going to install all of KDE instead? You're a power user. I don't use the command line much so it doesn't bother me. I used it to get access to foreign repositories for instance. Gnome is really meant for the "average" desktop user.

Thanks for your assistance, The Craig!

No side panel, which either means gnome varies betweens distributions, or you have a different version of it.  I have KDE and Gnome installed, but use the KDE environment (and Konqueror is there too).  So I can load Gnome applications if I want.  It seems that KDE has way more applications than Gnome, and also, the options available within each application are more feature-rich.

Fedora 9 is pretty good.  It found all of our oddball hardware.  Encrypting all or portions of the hard drive is one of the reasons we went with Fedora.  The set up was pretty easy, and for a new system, installing it would be a cake walk (or a raw steak walk).  Mandriva 2008 is good too.  They have a one-stop shop window for computer soft/hardware set up.  But if you want to continually update your system with new goodies, they want you to subscribe to their club for that (can you say paid subscription?).  Well, that's how 2006 was.  We bought the dvd ($60-80) and they still nickel and dime you later.  I don't see fedora pulling this.  We shall see.

NOTE TO MEMBERS:  If you want Craig's attention, you may want to post in this thread.  He's a techie all the way.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on September 15, 2008, 09:34:00 am
You're the techie, typing commands as you tunnel through folders. :-)  I'm a Trekkie! Ha!

I think you're right about the distributions. Fedora Gnome might even be using a different file manager altogether.
Fedora sounds good. I wonder if there's a way to install their version of the kernal on Ubuntu.   ???

I don't have KDE installed but I have the Qt libraries so I can run KDE applications. KDE is two full versions ahead of Gnome and has been around longer so I'm sure there are more apps for it and that they've had more time to advance.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on September 21, 2008, 12:11:52 am
Read about copyright infringement a la background music tracks, and perhaps understand a bit more why I am absolutely hesistant to upload any of my videos to youtube, and down right insistent that I will be the only one to do it. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2008/09/youtube_cat_stevens_and_me.html

I have not seen any of my copyrighted content on youtube yet, but rest assured if I do, I will be contacting youtube about it to have them take it down and spank the user who uploaded it in the first place.  I just don't like the big corporate social sites that milk ever dime and gather info on users.  Google (owner of youtube now) is been pretty bad about privacy and data collecting concerns.

BTW, I think it's anal, legal bs, but the law is the law.  I also think exposing yourself on HUGE data mining sites (aka social networking sites like myspace and facebook) is absolutely foolish, unless you are a celebrity and all of your dirty laundry is already aired everywhere.  Prospective employers now routinely search these sites and profile people.  Better to buy your own domain that YOU control and blog or whatnot there.  My $.02.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on September 21, 2008, 05:57:09 am
Come on, Craig.  I posted in this thread to get your attention, and it's not working!!!  You okay out there?  We all miss you.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: TylerDurden on September 21, 2008, 06:08:46 am
Yeah, he has to allocate the various forums to us mods, after all.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on September 21, 2008, 10:24:20 am
Come on, Craig.  I posted in this thread to get your attention, and it's not working!!!  You okay out there?  We all miss you.

I'm fine, just a busy bee. I've been leaving my phone in the car while at work so have no Internet access or microwave exposure for most of the day.  :)

Was that post prompted my my wondering if the fedora kernel could be compiled and integrated into Ubuntu? It's GPL, isn't it? Or is it some proprietary feature separate or added onto the kernel and not apart of the kernel itself?

Craig
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on September 21, 2008, 10:29:03 am
I'm fine, just a busy bee. I've been leaving my phone in the car while at work so have no Internet access or microwave exposure for most of the day.  :)

Was that post prompted my my wondering if the fedora kernel could be compiled and integrated into Ubuntu? It's GPL, isn't it? Or is it some proprietary feature separate or added onto the kernel and not apart of the kernel itself?

Craig

Well, nice of you to join us.  We thought some tropical storm washed you away or something.  We love our fearless leader so.  :-*

No no, I just was reading the BBC and stumbled upon that.  I thought it was ridiculous a recording company would search youtube for background clips and demand ad space for it. And so I posted it for an fyi here ... kinda sorta hoping you'd pop in and comment.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on September 21, 2008, 10:53:49 am
That reminds me of Ice Ice baby copying something like everything but one note of Under Pressure and getting away with it because of the difference. Not sure how true it is but remember hearing about it after Vanilla Ice released it way back when.

I was blown away but have made my way back.  ;D
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: stevesurv on October 01, 2008, 06:57:28 am
Hey everybody. I won't be around very much for a while because my hardrive is toast. I have to wait for the money to get a new one. I'm using the computer at work but nonbusiness is a no-no so I must be discreet.
 
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: TylerDurden on October 01, 2008, 05:23:44 pm
Hey everybody. I won't be around very much for a while because my hardrive is toast. I have to wait for the money to get a new one. I'm using the computer at work but nonbusiness is a no-no so I must be discreet.
 

That's fine. I had a similiar problem a while back, with my PC fusing completely. I've since made sure to buy surge-protectors so as to ensure that it doesn't happen again.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: Satya on October 01, 2008, 08:54:14 pm
I have 2 hard drives, and the one writes to the other, so I have a backup should one fail.
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: xylothrill on October 02, 2008, 07:57:24 pm
Ya know, I should at least get a flash drive for backup or I should sync my Mac and Linux/Windows machines.
I read something about remote backups over the web. Are these reliable/secure?
Title: Re: Computer Woes
Post by: TylerDurden on October 02, 2008, 08:22:57 pm
Ya know, I should at least get a flash drive for backup or I should sync my Mac and Linux/Windows machines.
I read something about remote backups over the web. Are these reliable/secure?

That's what I've decided to do:- keep 1 flash-drive for transfering data, and 1 for storing essential backup files, so that when my PC goes fut once again, I'll be able to restore it back to its original state, quickly.