Monday, October 27, 2008

Extra! Cat lover puts on the dog!

Being a cat herder I come to realize the similarities between cats and Linux distros. The nature is the same yet there are independent personalities. I have one who thinks he's a boarder collie and will walk slightly ahead, angled to the right and directs the path other cats are going. In my summation you only need one cat, but cat herding grows on you and if left unchecked.........., remember that Star Trek episode with the trivets or what ever they're called and they teleported them to the Klingon vessel?

There is one amusing distro that always seems to get my attention, that is Puppy Linux. I guess because it is engineered differently than other distros. In particular, this was Minisys Linux or Muppy. It looks like this........

Engineered differently is exactly what attracts me (besides looks). It doesn't use .rpm or .deb packaging systems, it has it's own as Puppy fans are familiar with and it is fast. I am not going to install it though I am tempted, I am quite happy with Ubuntu, but as a portable Linux it is very interesting. Oh, it has this............. when you want to change your desktop GUI in Ubuntu, you have to do it before you login. Fedora makes this a tad easier, but Muppy does this on the fly. Fickle me (I learned it from the cats!), loves this and I wish all Linuxes would do this. Muppy comes in four sizes from full to mini or from Rottweiler to Chiwawa. Ya like dogs, eh?

Here are some links to get software for your Ubuntu system.

Gnome files , Ubuntu Software , Get Deb

I do have some views about Linux and computers in general. The laptop is becoming the standard computer that most people buy these days. Linux needs to work harder on both the modem and wireless. All hardware producers need to be greener, pushing for lead free and maybe oil-free plastics. Low power yet high performance it not totally impossible. I would like to see more laptops with swappable components similar to desktops, maybe a laptop like unit without a display, I already have a LCD display. On the software side, Puppy can switch GUI's on the fly, that should be standard. And I was wondering if USB memory is as fast as on board system RAM and could be used for memory expansion. USB memory is so much cheaper than RAM sticks. I should take time to figure this out, cats and curosity you know!

Day to day Linux use is as boring as day to day MS Windows if you never peek under the hood. But fussing and tweaking and muttering to myself is what makes computing fun. Come on, you play with TV remote, the microwave buttons, cellphone, PDA and the doorbell.

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