BYOM or techno bubbles bursting in air!

Car shows, they come, they go. So far I've never went to one because I hate to see all the latest stuff they managed to put between 4 wheels. Then I realize this dream car is one of a kind, not for sale, not coming to a dealer near you! Forget the car, what about the technology? Well when the technology finally comes, it in no way resembles what I saw in the show.

The all-in-one computer, like those TV/VCR/DVD combo units. I can see it on my desk now, sleek and poised. The computer built into the monitor because we are all duped into racing after the design pace set by Apple's iMac. I relax, kickback, want to put the keyboard in my lap, sit back in a creative pose, oh wait, I need to pop in a CD. I disrupt my posture for a moment to reach across to the display to put in the CD. It is so unnatural, I guess this is why laptops are so popular, it's all attached to the keyboard. But then I am stuck, I have this great laptop (not the latest) and the display is not a wide screen, not big enough for squinty eyes and I can't cop my creative pose, hang on to it and type too (new laptop needed?).

The answer to my dilemma is to rip the display off the laptop. With this all-in-one computer in my lap minus the display tethered by a cable, I can reach my CD slot in ease while striking my creative pose and mount the display on the wall, pole, stand or base. And use any display I happen to have (BYOM, bring your own monitor!!). But laptops are supposed to be portable! Hey, just because I want a desktop doesn't mean I must have a big energy sucking computer in a dust-bunny palace. Actually, netbooks are more portable and laptops are..........less portable!

You computer folks make convertible laptops where the display will rotate, fold backward into a tablet. Why can't you make the display an attachable option? I will buy the base unit as a desktop and use a separate display of my choice. I think you computer makers are trying to sell displays with the computer as the option. I think it's child's play to put the display and hinge assembly on say a port extender block and secure it to the laptop back with two thumb screws.

Personally, the laptop is too big and not nomadic enough to be truly portable for most people and why today, netbooks are hot. This is my expert advice, rip the display off the laptop, call it the new desktop, leave the PC case for gamers and servers. This gives us three distinct classes of computers, the netbook, the low power desktop and the mod case PC. There are too many crossovers in the market.

OK, the hottest thing in PCs is to boot from a USB drive. I can boot MS XP, Vista, MS W7 on my hard drive or from that 4-32 gig thumb drive with the Linux of my choice or vice versa (my preference!). This is like a throwback to Commodore 64 days, the program cartridge plugged into the side of the computer. But with these USB thumb drives being 4 to32 gigs in size, the operating system and installed applications can be put on one drive. I know there are security issues with thumb drives in business machines. So put encrypted locks/keys on the bootable ports and maybe a physical lock so that only IT can remove it or change it. Anyway the PC itself can be fairly generic but when the jump drive is plugged in, it becomes a MS windows machine or a Linux machine at will.

Hey IT folks, if your OS and apps are on the jump drive and something gets corrupted, you only have to swap a new loaded jump drive and that PC is up and running. You still have to scan/clean the files on the server but half the work is done. You can even keep loaded jump drives handy to copy onto the hard drive if that is your way of working. Think of this as digital inoculating injectors, pretty cool.

Sometimes it's not about new stuff, but using what we have already in a different light. Yeah, in Linuxville we are use to that!.

Lookie here, the ZPC - WOW!!

Well, I don't really need another computer though it's been a couple of years and things do change over time. I tell you those netbook PCs, at least for me, would be far more handier than say a Blackberry. It's just a tad bit too small. But I don't want to buy a netbook and a cell phone. Maybe I'm just fussing, want a bigger screen display and bigger keys. On that front I am still looking.

On the desktop scene I thought a laptop would fill the bill but now I am having second thoughts. In my house I don't tend to compute all over it. Certain spaces are for focused activities and attentions, I like it like that. I do want to show you some evolutionary PC pictures. Check these out:
This, if you don't remember was the Commodore 64, an all-in-one, under the keyboard PC. It had cards you plugged into the side that were loaded with applications and games and the operating system, programming languages, etc. It had all sorts of ports for peripherals and transformer bricks for everything.

This was the Atari PC, I forget which one. It was also an all-in-one unit and a definite improvement in style and function. Don't ask me who came first.

I saw this yesterday:
This is my Dream PC, the Cybernet Zero Footprint PC or ZPC-GX31. Some body said take a laptop and gee, use your own monitor. Then remove the laptop's internal clutter and cooling nightmare. It's got a laptop's smallness and a desktop's roomy simplicity, all under the keyboard. I can use my 15" LCD or upgrade to something larger. I can move it around the house, so what it's not a laptop. Finally a desktop with flexibility. Ever try to upgrade or fix a laptop, somebody please call the service techie and former watch maker. Then having industry standard parts and few cutting edge stuffs inside, the cost has got to be reasonable, I've got to look into this further. This would make a very cool office machine or home machine. From the web site you can see this machine can fit anywhere with ease. If I were a IT manager/techie/business owner, I'd be jumping all over this company's product (there's probably a waiting list). http://www.cybernetman.com/default.cfm?DocId=602

So, here you go, no fragile clamshell, no toe stubbing, knee knocking case, no one size fits all LCD display, and no ancient of days experienced techs required. You might have to endure some teasing, "Hey, what happened to the rest of your laptop?' or "thick keyboard, no case, what kind of computer is that?" You might have to yell at the kids, "don't drink and type!", "You, with the milk, step away from the computer!!" Those keyboard skins will sale like hot cakes! Some said "looks dated". If it had a sleeked up, geeked out appearance, would that drive up the cost? Bottom price about $700. Even the low end is adequate and a LCD display for about $120 or so and still reasonable.

I've got to find out if it runs Linux well, if it does, my fate is before me. If you are a school net manager looking for new PCs, you ought to look at this Cybernet ZPC-GX31. For me it is a great compromise between a laptop and a desktop. Ah! the eloquence of form and function without the future-tech hype style, looks good on any desk. Running Linux will seal the deal and bring in a no need to build-it myself glint back in my eye.

Just a further note: The spec sheets says it will run Linux "top distros". And this baby will boot from a USB device, which means Linux on a jump drive.

freedom to compute

If there are two things that spark my imagination it is big power in small packages and small packages that run Linux. Laptops are the rage and soon to be the standard PC most people are buying these days. To have it all in one package you can take with you is so convenient, you'd have to be pretty old school to pass this up. And to top it all off, laptops are getting more and more powerful so that you don't have to buy many extra gadgets to fill it out. As a PC tech I think I need to get one...........but, I just saw in Computer Shopper the Shuttle X27 (drool, drool!). You can get it with Linux of some flavor!! Thats fully loaded hardware and software.

If you know anything about the Shuttle PC's, they are small form factor and are barebones or fully loaded. The X27 is a solid state machine (no moving parts). It's like a laptop in a tiny box, perfect for a geekologist like me and if you look around, you can fine a small price. Man that Shuttle web site is amazing. I would call these machines semi-portable. If you are wanting huge power in a little package this is the way to go.

But what I would like to see is a new desktop that is actually a laptop without a screen. I could use the LCD screens I already have. Or a LCD screen that is part of a dock extension unit that locks on the back edge of the laptop base unit. It would still be a portable but have a fully detachable screen. The idea is that if you already have a monitor and aren't looking for a laptop, just buying the bottom part cuts the cost. Those laptop LCD's can be expensive and are fragile.
This would be a good machine to drive a souped up digital picture frame (regular LCD monitor) and audio file player. Who knows what you could make this thing do. I am hoping someday for a big pile of computer stuff so that I can experiment with computers around the house. Don't get me wrong. I think consumer products are good, just not great. I never quite find what I have in mind. I think it is a good time to invent something.

the sound of small imagination bangs

Like any home or business there is a closet for used or discarded stuff. There in the corner, under the mask of dust bunny fur are old PC's, monitors, printers, etc. I can't vouch for most electronic junk but PC's that can still run a descent operating system, hard drive and CD player can still be useful. If perchance you could run Linux on it you might even redeem it from the scrap heap. And what would make an older PC attractive to purchase from a reseller? Here is the vision!!

1. PC's do not have to be hooked up to the internet to be useful.
2. PC's do not need to be in a network to be useful.
3. There is no law that says one PC per person or family, or that it must sit at a desk with keyboard in front of it.
4. There is no law that says a computer must be used a certain way.
5. There is no law that says that a computer must be able to do everything.

Internet and networks are a fine convenience, but you could do many things without it. Lets say you wanted an entertainment system besides your big screen cable fed TV. A stand alone PC could play audio and video that your TV can't supply. All you'd really need is to download stuff from the net via your regular PC or laptop to a flash drive, or burn a CD/DVD, pop it into your dedicated PC entertainment system. You could buy one of those really small, cheap, can't play games on it PC's for this. On my main computer I have movies and YouTube clips, podcasts, iTunes, lots of photos and of course my artwork. I could put them all on a USB drive or jump drive and plug into my entertainment PC.

Ever ask yourself why those digital picture frames are so small? Want something bigger? For a few bucks more get a cheap 15 inch flat screen. Hook it up to your cheap PC and run a slide show of your photos. Oh and you can buy wall mounts and pole mounts for your flat screen. The artistic and decorating potential here is great. How about laying that flat screen under that glass top table or hanging 3 flat screens, one beneath the other on a wall. My flat screen has built in speakers, not good for rattling windows, but normal listening........ah!

Linux has many applications that are very useful for these projects. Elisa Media Center is one. It will play any media file stored on your PC, the desktop interface is simple and very attractive. Then most of the image viewers and photo management apps have slide show functions. There are a great selection of audio media players, some with music driven eye candy. I use VLC to play even commercial movie DVD's.

The thing is that we get into patterned thinking that computers are meant to do this and that. We think one computer is enough and it must do everything, only it can't do everything all at once. A few cheap computers doing dedicated tasks is less bother and more fun. Sometimes I will be working on my main machine and have my older other PC just running a slide show, playing some music or a podcast. Pretty cool, huh! I am looking for ways to use computers about the house without the theater experience or without gameplay takeover of my livingroom. I am surprised few ever talk about a "simple" touch screen display in the kitchen. Those all-in-one tablet PC's are too expensive, how much power do you need for a kitchen PC anyway? With my 15 inch glorified picture frame with touch screen control, I would insert my jump drive of downloaded recipes or morning digital newspaper and have my coffee. We always want technology to do too much. That is why we don't get it. I hope I have sparked your imagination to try stuff and use Linux. Let the other guys work on the next big thing, we in Linuxville bask in the sound, a sea of small imagination bangs. A bang in every head!

Linux + Art, is there such a thing?

Most of us are totally convinced that the only shoes we can run in are Nike and Converse. We have made an industry out of running, heck there are even running magazines. It is the same with computer generated art. We have made an industry out of it. The big guns are Photoshop and Illustrator and other software that are Microsoft and Apple based. Some insist you can't be serious about computer art unless you use these programs. It's very much like saying you can't do otherwise, we won't accept it, and if you manage to do it, you are the only one.

It's also been suggested that you can't make art unless your trained. This assumes that you as an artist are pursuing a career in the commercial art world. Now with your accepted credentials you can work anywhere in the world as an artist. Canned and programmed, the artist who works for some company never really gets into what drew him into art in the first place, to be able to realize his own work.

Well, there are so many assumptions that we forget the fundamental ability of an artist is to take what is around them and formulate a new view so that we see things differently. I could give many examples from a guy drawing portraits using an Etch-a-sketch to another who uses a cheap ball-point pen to do photo-realistic work...........So why is it so hard to imagine doing artwork on a Linux computer? Linux is not taught in the art schools, or any school for that matter. Linux is so not the industry standard, the programs do not meet up to the standards, tools and functions and requirements and.........."You can't make a Linux based art business, it won't work."

I once heard of an artist not affording his art-ware, plucked his own hair out to make his brushes and I can't tell the stories of thousands of African artist who made their own paints and dyes of various substances to paint on bark, fabric and walls. We acknowledge and give great respect to them and their works. But now you have to use the industry standard training, tools, practices and materials in order to do art.

Then it is assumed I am not a purist to my Linux cause if I take the work created in Linux and pass it over to a MS or Apple computer to print out, because printer drivers for the wide format printers I prefer are not available yet for Linux.

Tools, training, practices, standards, credentials, you have to wonder if it is really art anymore.

The part that struck and stuck to my bones was an interview with an African crafts person many years ago. He was asked why he crafted. His answer was "I just want to make beautiful things." Yes folks, there is an art gene or it is just how our brains are wired.

So today, Linux (GIMP and Inkscape and others) is my pulled out hair to make a brush, my Etch-a-sketch, my cheap ball-point pen, my home made paint and dyes and even my running shoes of recycled tire treads. My motive is, "I just want to make beautiful things." And I hope people can appreciate what I have chose to call "art via Linux".



I think I have to add some background texture to them but I like the simplicity. It is all a blending of my African sensibility (I still have some!), technical drafting and other things using Linux tools. I am working on the print, pricing and marketing aspect, but things are coming along. My feeling is that art should be lived with. After all these years I am still not seeing what I like on the market. Perhaps I can put it there. Yeah, I just want to make beautiful things too!

nothing, what's formatter with you!

I know we all like to point, click and forget it, but there comes a time when the file we downloaded won't play, or won't play right. I'm talking about video files mainly but graphic files have their moments also. Between web-cam and camcorder users lots of videos are posted on the net for whatever purpose. I especially like podcasts how-to's, jazz groups and techie talk shows. From YouTube I can get them as .FLV files and on my Xubuntu Linux system play them with MPlayer or VLC. Yes, you have to have the proper codecs installed or some formats can't be viewed. Commercial DVD's need special codecs which are contained in a file off the net.

But let's say you want to convert your .FLV files to .MPG. Why? Because you might be able to copy to a CD/DVD and play them on your video player connected to your TV. Yes, without hooking your PC to your TV you can see custom made videos, slide shows and listen to music. Just pop in the prepaired CD or DVD into the TV's vid box and wah-lah!!!

Hey I didn't know I could do this either. I used a program called FFMPEG. It's a Linux program and it is command line driven. It's not that scary to use if you don't mind the Linux terminal, you'll get over it. Anyway ffmpeg will not only convert video and audio formats back and forth, it will turn a directory of jpeg photos into a slide show mpeg file you can watch on your TV.
The ideal thing is to have a DVD burner so that you have lots of room in case you are converting a long movie. You can go to the ffmpeg home page to see command structure and tweaks.

If you are an artist type or a photo bug, and you happen to have one of those wide screen TV's, you could see your own stuff big time. I wonder if you could blend in a sound track? Of course the best is to have a videocard with a S-video output, then you could easily plug into your big screen and not bother with converting. But I just wanted to let you know you could do these things in Linux.

off the curve, into traffic - like frogger, no

Going the Linux way you will see all sorts of tools you never thought of. I for one am a visual person and ideas are, you know, fleeting. I write down notes on every scrap of paper around my desk. And yes, there are various regurgitations of sticky notes and post-it notes. I have both the paper kind and the digital equivalent. Let's see, desktop icons all over the screen, sticky notes on my monitor and floating on my desktop. OOOh, I am so unorganized! I hate too many desktop icons. It's a good thing the Linux file browser is so handy, not like in other operating systems. If I want a file I go there first and fast.

Enter Tomboy Notes.........pretty cool, it's like a mini file browser for notes. You can jot things down on note pages and put them in folders to keep them in order. This is great if you are following a train of thought. You could do this with your regular file browser but this Tomboy Notes is available on the desktop and has ways for moving and reorganizing just the notes. The trouble with Tomboy Notes and my thought trains is that my thoughts include pictures.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a picture with a few words is priceless. I was looking for a note taker app with the ability to pull in graphics. I found something so much more. It's called BasKet Note Pads. Here's a couple of pictures so that I won't have to write a book:



This BasKet Note Pads is like a notepad on steroids. What we have here is a complete research tool. You can add pictures, web links, notes, and more yet to be discovered. Talk about scrapbooking, this is way beyond that digital album you've been playing with. This could be a front-end to accessing stuff on your personal database and on the internet.

I've just uncovered a new niche in cyber-law, digital inheritance. How do you pass on your personal computer database? Digital effects, hmmm..........

Jumping into the Linux fray is not so bad, look both ways, take your time, you'll be just fine.

The Leap - actually just stepping off the curve.

We've talked about what Linux is and that it has a desktop (just like the other guys). For you it is the same point-n-click except things might be in different places under different icons. Why? Because MS and Apple get very upset if Linux had the exact same desktop as their copy-righted products. Look at all the various ink pens and cars that all do the same things (write and move your body). It is the same for operating systems, applications and computer hardware.

So when you are looking to acquire a PC/Mac your main concerns are cost and available applications. To yours truly, Linux offers the most bang for the buck and a wide variety of free software. The caveat is, learning to accept the Linux world. But the greatest of all compromises is Open Source Software. For the most part, Open Source Software is free and of course cross-platform. There are versions of applications that run on Linux and well as Microsoft PC's and some for Macs too. So, don't be pressed to switch platforms unless you really want too.

As you all know I am a digital art dabbler and in my present economic condition I can't justify paying for Photoshop or Paint-Shop Pro for that matter, just to have so-called professional graphics programs. Does this stop me from developing my interest and talents in pixel pushing? NO!! Of course if you are working in a commercial capacity, the industry standard software would be an advantage for you, if they required it. But who is to say what software produced a digital file if the format is one you can use. I have accepted the fact that when and if I need those MS Windows based professional programs, I can if I must, get them. A strange thing happens though. If you use GIMP as GIMP, without constant comparison to Photoshop, it becomes your favorite when you are using it. Sometimes a new brush (or graphics program) brings a new perspective on honed skills. If you are a big Photoshop fan, why is your life and livelihood threatened by GIMP? It is just that some are so stiff on using MS Windows and Photoshop. Are you convinced that Linux and Open Source Software based graphics is a futile dream or a form of social protest? And by the way, I do hug digital trees!!

I went on a noontime excursion to the local library. Rummaging through the Microsoft software books looking for signs of Linux life, I found a couple of new books. Linux for Dummies (at last). This is a very good book but it is not for dummies. It's more for tech savvy but don't know Linux type folks. I think the "for dummies" people try to explain too much at once. Then Ubuntu, How to Do Everything. I'm still flicking through this book, looks interesting and is closer to the Linux for Dummies idea. It shows how to do desktop stuff with Ubuntu Linux.

I am tipping my hat to the library people for buying more Linux books. We need more stuff on open source applications too. I am still waiting for a book on GIMP to grace the shelves. A few books on digital graphics that are not about photography would be a plus. Digital art, digital painting, etc. There are as many books on Photoshop alone as there are on MS Office software. Then if you flick through those books they center on photos and photo manipulation. There are none that explore drawing and painting. I guess some people still don't think of a computer as being an artist tool. Thank goodness for inter-library loans, we'd be lost without it!

Well if I absolutely must use MS based software for graphics I guess I can, but my aim is to explore, use and produce graphics with Linux software. Why? Because I can and I am. So, with Linux there is no problem making the art, but marketing and selling will take further study. We will see what develops!

Linuxville and you, a desktop user

Welcome to Linuxville!!!

You are thinking about a Linuxville visit and so you jump on the net to view some screenshots (postcards) and read the travel reviews of critics. It is so confusing because the critics of Linux never match the perspective user's vantage point. Imagine being all day on a fishing boat after promoters rave about catching the big one and you bring home the guppy. Or you are a river wader type of fishing person and you hook something that taxes both you and your equipment. I know, I know, you want the skinny from an expert, that way you can have all your questions answered. Good luck with that!

Linux in review depends on who is looking at it. If you ask the plumber, you get pipes. If you ask the artist you get pictures. If you ask the lawyer you get a legal opinion and a bill. Linux today is described by many experts who happen to be technicians, system administrators, programmers, and are proficient at running servers and large networks. But you need to hear from someone who is just like you, a desktop user, even a home user.

But, but, shouldn't they know all the nuts and bolts and inner workings of Linux thus are qualified and able to tell me what I need to know?? Yes, but no!! These folks know a lot in some areas, not enough in others. Never ask an engineer for an explanation in a nutshell, you will get the details, all the details. At first you want to know what does it look like, what can it do, how is this better than what I already have? What's the cost? What's the point? Then later you can ask about details. It is a common experience that the well versed have little patience for new users and curious inquirers. Why? Because many of these vocal experts have used Linux for years without the desktop GUI (graphical user interface). Linux works without the GUI and in some cases works better, like on servers. They will say "type this", when all you want and need is "click this".

Is there an answer to this dilemma? Yes. The pool of Linux users are really a group of symbiont communities (ooh! Jedi talk) with overlapping experiences. But what is needed is Linux from the point of view of a desktop user. The desktop Linux user is in reality a new group, most of whom have little interest in the inner workings. OK, car drivers should know how to change a tire, how to check the oil and how to adjust the driver compartment for a comfortable fit. Knowing the mechanics is optional, but not necessary. It is the same with Linux. Also, there are kinds of users with different needs. If we are talking about changing from Microsoft to Linux, it is different for a home user than for a business owner or system administrator. Home users don't have to worry about changing and maintaining large numbers of computers. So, choose your critics/reviewers wisely.

As your Linuxville guide I want you to see the views of a typical desktop user. Linux on the desktop is like a car. It maybe boring or very exciting. The desktop is about look and feel and the drive. You may want to rock the chassis, screech the tires, or just drive to work and back. Some want a normal routine experience, some want to tinker, customize, accessorize and say "lookie here".

As a Linux desktop user, my experience has drawn me to these main conclusions:

1. Linux is not a clone of Microsoft Windows or a free version of MS Windows.

2. Linux is not a substitute or replacement for MS Windows, implying that it will run your entire investment of MS based software without a hitch.

3. Linux can be used instead of MS Windows to do the same kinds of computing tasks using software written for Linux.

4. Linux can accommodate software written for other platforms, not flawlessly but it can be done.

5. Linux has its own games.

6. It is the file format that matters more than the program that created it. If the file format is liberated from one company's market controlling whims, it is more advantageous for everyone. Ask any computer networking person about networking protocol standardization and ethernet communication. And why MS Word versions (there are a lot of them!) have different formats to where a conversion program is needed is beyond me.

7. The GUI was invented on a Unix system and passed on to Apple then to MS. The icons and windows and even the tools that perform tasks in applications are all industry standards of the total computer community. This is so skills are transferable and you will know what to expect no matter which computer you use, Linux, MS or Mac, whether you type a command or click the mouse.

8. As a desktop user you have the liberty to be a poster-child or fanboy/girl for the computer system of your preference or be a free range chicken with transferable skills to use any computer under your fingers.

9. As a Linux desktop user you can be a surface skimmer (GUI user only) or deep diving codehead with equal comfort.

10. It is jesting to say that with MS you will be assimilated and with Linux you will be accommodated, but there are rings of truth here.

Well, you have reached the city limits, drive on or turn around and stay for a while. I hope your visit was/is pleasant. Don't forget the souvenirs, we have live-CD's, postcards (screenshots), my blog travel guide and, ooh! is that a bobble-head penguin on your dash? Man, you're my hero!

Linux is what Linux is

I had a friend who worked for DEC equipment years ago. DEC was a mainframe computer manufacturer. My friend was often given a list of specifications and a stack of photos from a sales manager. He was asked to make a literal pile of parts look like the photos and work like the specs. I never heard how successful he was, just that he kept his job. The customers never seen the mess of parts or the tremendous skill and effort required to put them all together. They just saw the finished product and asked where is the boot button.

I have read so many people who want Linux to be like MS Windows in every way. One look and feel, one way of doing things, even one brand name or one company to blame for screwups. This is too much like asking a horse to be a goose. For Linux to become static in nature.........it would not be Linux any more. Linux was not conceived as a single product and will never be a single product. The kernel considered to be the real "Linux" in Linux was started by one person Linus Torvalds, put on the net to be developed and extended. Many coders who already knew something about writing software for Unix added utilities and functions for Linux. Then applications were either written from scratch or ported to Linux from other Unix based platforms.

So, in reality the Linux project became a kit of Linux parts all under the umbrella name Linux. This kit contains many duplicated functions, you might say extra parts, redundant parts, because one group of developers used this library set and another a different one or one group worked this out one way and another a different way. Now comes along persons or groups who like my DEC friend wants to build a Linux system. They select from all the parts, put then together, test them and name the built system. We call this built system a distribution. Today there are 400+ Linux distributions, each unique for its features or flavor or function. It is amazing the creativity that goes into building a Linux system let alone into the parts themselves.

Should 400+ distributions cause those new to Linux to have a reason to complain and be confused? I say no. The Linux community recommends certain distributions as good starting points, popular choices and solid stable and well supported. It should be noted that you can't regard Linux the same as the off the shelf commercial software you are used to using. If you want what you have now only different and free, Linux is not what you want. If you want to keep and run all your other platform software, you might be out of luck. If you are determined to compare every inch of Linux against Microsoft because there must be a clear winner and a loser, why waste your time. Linux can replace Microsoft or work along side of it, if you can use it, use it. If you don't use it that is your choice.

So I state the facts, Linux is a kit of parts. Combinations of collections of these parts are put into tested systems called distributions. These distros are documented so that you can choose among them and not build from scratch unless you want to. Distributions like Ubuntu and Fedora are easy for new users to understand and use. Once you have some experience you might move on to Mepis or another. I will also say that Linux is Linux and you will find the same applications for any Linux OS for desktop use.

If you have the curiosity or necessity or adventurous spirit, come to a virtual Linuxville tour via Live-CD. You can see if Linux works on your hardware, if you like the tools and applications and decide if installation is in your future. Linux is what Linux is.

pushing the Titanic with a paddle

It is a simple equation, change one computer user to use open source at a time.

A single user doing personal computing usually has no problem seeing the light of change. A small business might also realize the benefits of open source applications. Schools, larger businesses and governments are reluctant to change because the cost of change is not just measured in money spent. It is not only the cost of new software, training or workflows. It is changing the minds of people all entrenched, networked and efficient at doing things as they stand. Everybody agrees that to outfit a larger concern with open source software you have to reset the mentalities of all the execs, management, support techs and work staff. This is changing the tools by which business is done. Retooling takes time and costs money.

Because of entrenchment, we have given in to teaching the next generation to follow suit, to continue doing business with the same tools, the same methods and projecting the same outcomes. Today we see that many have over stepped and over reached to the ruin of business itself. So, to make adjustments we are asking a new generation to strive to use the same tools and methods in new and creative ways.

We have outlawed the use of lead in consumer products, but the promise of the possibility of turning lead into gold still gives us reason to teach lead use to each new generation. This is true with coal and oil and all the chemicals, processes and products derived from them. To just abandon them, stop using them, is too big a change. It is unthinkable not to use them and to find alternatives puts everything we have now in jeopardy.
The American way is at stake and the way we live and do business, what we value....................

Meanwhile in the background, in diverse corners of the globe the much envied and coveted ways and means of doing business and education by which we have promoted and leveraged indirect authority and influence, is slipping as great quantities of peoples are realizing open source ways. Solar power, wind power and open source software can be had and used without war and without threats of war, without treaty violations, without patient infringement.

Oh, and by the way, some folks have invented the almost neutral backyard nuclear power generating station (still being tested and proven) so nations wanting a big political leverage/physical disaster waiting to happen doomsday device should reconsider. I don't endorse nukes, but who am I, right?

The problem is who makes the bucks? Who controls the revenue stream from the sale and use of the tools of education and business? I know this is the fact. Schools contact me all the time wanting me to attend because having been guided through their coursework at great cost to me means I've become qualified to obtain employment to be able to pay them back. If I have the right stuff, I could download the same material, learn the same knowledge and be equally able to do the work. Seems being qualified to work is a matter of paying some sort of dues to an approved institution. Then if you don't live here and got the education and skills, you can come here and work, not many questions asked. That element called the "right stuff" is rampant among people struggling to improve themselves and their nations. They won't forever endure the deals from Microsoft. MS was so worried about the One-Laptop-Per-Child program because the laptops was not using their software. MS should have been about putting solar arrays in those remote and diverse places so that kids could power those laptops and have lights, communications and pumps for drinking water, etc. Allegiance to a brand-name may grant limited opportunities but most often leaves you subject to the will of your benefactor. Believe me, mutual benefits mean you take a little less and give something in return. Now you must fight for rights, control and destiny's future. It's the give me a fish or a fishing pole/net scenario.

Don't mean to point fingers and name names, just to state principle from a point of view. Business should ask if a person has word processing skills, then what software. Using Open Office should not disqualify one from working a job using MS Word. If the job requires advanced or MS Word specific skills then say no or provide training and be done with it. Businesses have gotten out of the habit of making experts and prefer to buy an expert, trained and experienced already. To follow the just do the work trend, we've eliminated training for specific skills, research and development, engineering, and now manufacturing. We've become corporate HQ's pushing virtual paperwork for warranty, insurance, maintenance agreements, and law offices to protect patients and copy-right violations. Oh gee, no wonder average folks can't find work? You need a 4 year degree minimum to do anything. The infrastructure and substructure of business is swallowed and overshadowed by the superstructure.

The pyramid is built for the top stone only and is the monument of a single self. We ignore the fact that it is a death chamber and grave stone, while an engineering marvel, contributes nothing to the livelihood of the neighborhood except slavery in the past and tourist dollars today. Ever wonder why it is ideal to have a hermetically sealed stainless steel casket to bury a lifeless decaying corpse that will never, ever be used again? I don't need no stinking pyramid, got my own millennium time capsule! I will preserve my memory, I will defy even the dust I am destined to return to. It's my dust, darn it, my molecules, they must not be mingled, blended or dispersed!!??.............

We have been misdirected in many things, sometimes too much. In spite of all our experience we still can't admit a wrongness about our ways. I don't think anybody in the Open Source community wants to totally dismantle and decimate all we know. But what we would like to see is new ways to see and deal with problems that pledge our world. And what we are realizing is that fighting for the rights to have and use old tools and knowledge is a time and resource and people waster. We would like to see education improve life around the world and not used as a political weapon or means to enslave with ignorance and misinformation. Open source is a way, like solar panels and wind generators, to embrace and use what we already have.

making open source known and loved

He who writes the history has the strength of his point of view. I am thinking about who discovered America......., first? Does first claim really give people power, authority and influence? I do know that if you repeat a thing enough in the public's ear, it tends to stick, the same as when things appear in print. So you make a claim and repeat it until everyone believes it. The trouble is that it may not be the whole truth and maybe falsehood entirely. So, Columbus was here first from a certain point of view. The people he met here did not write history so they had no valid claim to the people Columbus reported to. He who writes the ads has the strength of his point of view. History/advertising/history, there is no difference.

We buy sneakers with the brand-name because they are endorsed by well known champions. We buy because we like to emulate and imitate and psyche ourselves into believing we are improved by having bought. What about track stars wearing the best engineered sneakers in the world being beaten consistently by unknowns wearing shoes made from recycled tire treads? Not a problem, the brand-name sneaker company will go all out to put their shoes on those faster feet. The name-brand sneaker maker's reputation remains intact and the advertising rings true. The real truth is, it's not the shoes!

Who writes history/ads, who believes them? So far in the cyber-world, the commercial names have the advantage because they write the history/ads. Any business with a product who does not market is unknown, period. It does not matter if you have truly the best product ever made, if you don't advertise it, no one will know to buy.

Linux and Open Source Software need to develop a marketing plan according to the open source way of doing business. One example I listen to everyday is Public radio/TV. It delivers in an open format news and shows not found on network radio/TV with little to no commercial advertising support, being funded by individual listeners and foundation donations. This requires two things, the ability to ask users for funding and support in a more obvious way and a certain accountability so that folks know where bucks are going. It's all about how this program is explained into the public's ear, what they see in the media. Then repeat it, until we all believe it, accept it, do it. We sort of have done some of this already but public radio/TV is well known and Linux and Open Source Software is not, so we have a lot of work to do.

Linux and Open Source Software are free, yet people have a hard time believing that. They are right for thinking that, everything cost something. While it is free, support is requested. This can be donations of money, word of mouth promoting, bug reporting, project development or however people can be involved in the user support community.

The commercial concerns in cyber-world want Linux and Open Source Software to endorse the traditional business models and structures, play by their rules, they call it a level playing field. Linux and Open Source Software does not fit those models, those structures and transends field play. We are a parallel universe sharing the same space and allowing people to travel inter-dimensionally back and forth as needed. We should stick with the open source way, we have come this far, and have worked wonders.

and try not to confuse the user this time

Part of my job as a Linuxville official is to show by my true life adventures that the fear of Linux is unfounded. The trick is in how you approach it, but you have to know that the Linux developers have come more than half way to meet you. It is called a graphical user interface or GUI. Thus begins the tale:

My car became toast as I drove it home, rattling and clanking. Not being the backyard mechanic I had it towed to the repair place. In it's place I got a loaner. I have a mid sized car. The last time of major repair I got a small car loaner, this time a SUV. I jumped in the front seat, put on the seat-belt and froze. This is different. The steering wheel is in plain sight, the pedals in familiar places, I just have to find the other stuff. Window controls, heat, radio, gear shifter, all a bit different. The posture, the view out the window and the sound of the engine and feel of the road. It was a car changing moment!

My point is every car sold has the standard layout and equipment. You can put the same driver in any vehicle. That layout is the user interface. Designers go crazy making sure the greatest swath of drivers can be accommodated, thin, tall, short and large. It is the same with computer hardware and in fact computer operating systems. Why, because all kinds of users have to use it. Many folks are lined up on the Microsoft side or the Apple side thinking their brand-name of choice invented the GUI. One company is even trying to patent all or parts of the GUI to prevent others from using GUI's without paying fees. The truth is that the GUI was invented on the Unix platform. And as with all things that enable the public to use it, the GUI became the standard way of computing on all platforms.

On the hardware side you have the keyboard, mouse, and video display. On the software side you have a text screen and GUI. In Linux you really don't need the GUI to operate it, but the GUI is the most comfortable way to use it. And when you log into Linux the GUI that is presented is no different than that on Macs or MS Windows because this is what users expect. I still can't get over people seeing Linux for the first time saying "hey, that's just like Windows, I thought Linux was like DOS!". The elements of the GUI's we have today may be different in style and varied in function but are all similar for all platforms. If they were too different from platform to platform there would be some who would like it but most would not. Businesses especially want a consistent GUI to keep training and support cost down. And how could anything be popular if wide variations were on the market. Well, what about Linux?

Linux has 30+ different GUI's. The three most popular ones Gnome, KDE and Xfce. The others are available if you want them, but most Linux distributions start with these three. Don't forget Mac and Microsoft are company products, they have to decide what they are going to sell you. Linux is open for anybody to design GUI's for it, this is what has happened. Businesses have got behind the most popular Linux GUI's so support is there for business use. If you are not a business, you can find a dream GUI and fly with it.

I just want you to know about Linux, that it is not way different as some say. That Mazda car had a rotary engine, the actual user part of the car was just like any other. Think of Linux like that. I drove the small car, the mid-size car and now the SUV. I've used MS Windows, Linux and Macs with only minor hesitation and very little learning curves, because the GUI's were similar.

Now if they can only do something about multiple TV remotes!

tech life - the sequel

Of course there is a sequel! Because I heard an anguished sigh when I said Linux and games in the same sentence. OK, you are a serious gamer, this also means you are probably technically savvy and could dual-boot if you wanted to. Or you already have a dedicated gaming machine, Xbox, Wii or PSP. So you should conclude that the Linux crowd really has little interest in duplicating the whole gaming world's roster in order to justify itself as a MS Windows or Mac rival. Such expectations and assumption are totally wrong. You have to look at this whole Linux gaming thing as an adventure in another place. Linuxville as I call it has a flavor all it's own. I don't play games but I fiddled with Neverball and Neverputt and that Frozen Bubble is addicting. I have to learn the Billard-GL, a 3d pool game because I like pool. But the Doom type games are not my type. Cards and puzzles and mazes and such, there is no end. But because the favorite games of some are not here, we have no games. So, if I were a real gaming fan I would rather have a dedicated game box and not burden the Linux world with my insatiable demands, "Halo".

Among the many PC users are the types who just play the programs and the types who want to do stuff. I think Linuxville is an uncluttered landscape, a place where you can escape the commercial, the pre-packaged and venture into a world of your own making. The opportunity to do-it-yourself is lost when we are continually told there is no time to create just consume. Linuxville is where you can find many avenues of development still open without an end users (consumer's) agreement. How terrible it would have been if back yard mechanics could only turn the piles of parts they've bought into the same cars that roll off the assembly line (wrench by number anyone?). Might as well get a job on the line. Innovation came from the backyards, drag strips, race tracks and car shows, not the assembly line. Folks have different solutions, different approaches and sometimes a new solution comes from folks unpolluted by years of learning.

So, lets look at things in a more proper light. MS Windows and Mac OS are company products. Linux is a kit of parts that when put together accomplish the same things as the company products. Over the years people have improved the Linux parts making Linux as a whole improved. Technically, Linux is a frame or kernel on which all the other various Linux parts can be hung. While the various parts can be swapped in and out, the kernel is the same. The same kernel in every solution holds all the parts together. So, you can customize the Linux parts, bolt them on the kernel, have a different Linux solution. But fear not, you don't have to put Linux together from scratch yourself (yet you can). Pre-assembled parts called "distributions" or "distros" are available to everyone. They are combinations of parts that work well together and are the handi-work of folks who have done the testing for you. Distros target different tasks, tastes, purposes and users. The Linuxville community from the user to the developer/programmer do a lot of talking, tweaking, and fixing to improve all the parts and make Linux better as a whole. Problems and short-comings are being noted and repaired even as we speak if it is known, not left to PC tech support to compensate for as needed. The PC tech guy would be like the Maytag repairman on a Linux network. Once setup Linux runs forever.............

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my granddaughter has a Nintendo DS. She poked at it with a little stylus. I've seen the elder of the church I attend do the same thing with his PDA. Man, I laughed, talk about priming the young for a product. I don't know all what can be done on this Nintendo DS, I did see a virtual keyboard while looking over her shoulder. So here is games, music, possibly texting on a pint-sized junior PDA to be. My dad had big hands, said he was clumsy at small parts, I can't imagine working the tiny (to me) PDA work-station. Just watching her peck away on her DS, intently staring at the tiny screens, immersed into that small world. She lost the little stick once and was helpless until she found it again. (oh, that was the best darn stick!) PDA's aren't there for me yet, I still don't have a cellphone. When PDA's replace my garage door opener, universal remote collection and my clapper light switch, it will be a must have. The clapper? That's to turn off my computer.

tech life 2 - when worlds collide

My mother-in-law was one thing, the grandkids another. Two 7 year-olds, how do you let them compute and keep your hair? I do have two machines, one my Linux workhorse and the XP just to remind me machine on the side. I installed the equalizer of open source software on both - TUX Paint!!!!!!!!, so they both could do the same thing.

Tux Paint is a wonder of a paint program. While the turkey was in the oven the kids not only learned the interface, they worked both machines without complaint, without problems. There was no difference in the programs operation or the outcomes. Pretty amazing things the kids were doing, I was impressed. If your computer doesn't have TUX Paint you must be a slacker. It's for kids but I also like to play because it's not so serious. And yet some pictures are quite good. It has brushes, stamps, lines, effects and sounds. Your talented budding artist will be busy, you'll be hunched over their shoulder going "let me try that". If you have a good printer you can put that refrigerator magnet collection to work. The way kids see and do things is really cool.

Then after the charm wore off, they settled into playing the games on my Linux box. They liked the one called "Super TUX", sort of a remake of the original Mario bros. Then TUX racer a downhill racer. There are other games of course but kids are kids. The object is play, total immersion into an alternate reality. There are lots of games in the Linux world. The wonderful thing is that if you install the ones in the Linux repository you don't get the crappy malware that is often attached to commercial and online games. I did notice that games act weird if you have all sorts of desktop compositing effects. They seem to work better if they don't have to compete for the display. Or it just may be my machine. I'll have to have the kids over more to test my theory, NOT. But I may look into it prior to their next visit.

I have said all this to say that Open Source Software that will run on either platform allows you a mobility that breaks the bonds of platform loyalty. If 7 year-olds can do it.............
The Linuxville desk is a mess, the cats are in hiding and after 3 days I am looking forward to the quiet once more. Linux was enjoyed by all. I am going to miss them but I get to have at TUX Paint by myself. Bye kids, see ya later folks........

livin the tech life

I'm tell'n ya, sometimes it's sweet and sometimes it's sweat. The tech life depends upon your point of view and your training. As Linuxville is not the most popular destination it takes on the persona of a resort town. There are seasons of crowds and seasons of emptiness. Linux is great on the server as most system admin will attest, but on the desktop Linux is still suspect. Actually the big difference between Linux on the server and desktop is the purpose and the GUI. Linux as a desktop has not filtered down into the majority of the computing public of users. Typically most PC users are Microsoft Windows oriented. Some know of Linux, most have no clue. If you have a PC powered by Linux, you just can't go to your local PC shop and ask for help. Chances are they have no experience with the Linux desktop. It is a pretty common occurrence. It is no different for home PC users or business users. All the problems that typical users have with their PC's or networks require a MS oriented technician to fix it. If you follow the logic, there is a synergy type relationship between the short comings of MS Windows and the technicians needed to fix them.

What about Linux based techie's?? The hardware part is the same no matter the OS, but Linux is.........well don't try it because if you get use to it, you will be spoiled. Seems once I set Linux up I don't have to mess with it for long stretches of time. I tend to forget what I did or how. If I had a continual practice of tweaking and fixing like I had with MS Windows I would be good at fixing. All my friends plus the jobs I seek have MS Windows PCs'. How can you ever get good at supporting Linux? Also seems Linux doesn't need that much fixing (once set up).

In the MS side of the PC world you can aspire to be a system admin, or user support tech. In the Linux world, system admin is the thing, you do it all (fewer users). That leaves software support and there is so much software out there. Business software is one thing and popular general use software is another. It can be difficult to place yourself to get exposure and training and experience. The reality is that you can't do or know it all. A greater problem is that you may not like the more needful and well paying tech work available around you. I think I fall into this category. After 24 years of electrical drafting I don't think of selling my soul to learn the depths of a new profession in PC support as a younger person might. I am a tad bit selective choosing not to constantly break new ground. So, I stay with what I am familiar with; CAD, graphics, open source software for general use,PC break/fix, desktop support, the Linux experience, and some MS Windows stuff.

My biggest hurdle is getting enough experience to hone my computer skills and make the work flow techniques to troubleshoot problems second nature. Some techs have a memory for facts, methods and experiences. This is a great value to techs. My dad could listen to a car, almost know what's wrong with it. Experience is big. A huge problem to techs is ego. A big self is not good for any situation or relationship. A little tempering makes for good business. Don't turn dependence upon your skills into a worship session. You should appreciate that folks rely on you, instead of that better person lurking in the wings. Don't you know there is always someone better!!

I think the human drive for perfection, excellence, and experts is over emphasized. Most of us reside between average and very intelligent. Many, many people hold this concept, in spite of our networks, being able to google for solutions, and think tank with peers. We still want go-to-people, gurus, prodigies and know-it-alls. This one person solution results in one thing, stress. To endure stress, work well under pressure, pays very well. To be skillful and under the constant squeeze makes you a star. Careful even the sun won't burn forever!

The user side of the tech life in Linuxville is still under development. Everything is in place, just needs users to use it. Not having a marketing machine behind it means folks are not worried about profits in the next quarter or risking the farm or bilking the investors. It is truly amazing Linux and open source software exist. Success here is measured in convinced and appreciating users not figs on the spreadsheet. Of course if Linuxville was filled with perm residences instead if vacationers my income would be a little better. Yet, I appreciate all who are curious and adventurious, come by, come in, Linuxville will always be open.

showing and telling

My peak of the season, my wife's 91 year old mother comes for dinner. She is one sharp and snappy whit, a retired grade school art teacher and artist in her own right. She, over the years has nipped and tucked at my artistic endeavors and I have resisted on principle. You see, I believe one should embrace the training you received while developing but, don't make it a hard rule to instruct the next generation. In principle, things like composition, balance, color, etc; never change, methods may change and media always changes. Even motivation, inspiration, vision, and meaning will greatly change the reason for doing art. Then there is this thing called permission. If an art "student" has the desire to be placed under your tutelage, you have permission to overshadow them. If not, you will be the harshest critic to the student, inflicting uninvited guidance, might even snuff them out. So you see here is a kind of tension between myself and my experienced artist mother-in-law.

She went to art school. They prepared her to be an artist professional so she could make a living doing art. It's not always a glamorous outcome. They break you and remake you and train you. You have many skills in the end, have tasted many techniques. Mother's specialty was watercolor, she is pretty good. Had her paintings printed in a book written by one of her instructors and won a few museum art shows. Then she taught grade school art many years.
Oh, did I tell you she has never used a computer at all, for anything. She, does not understand or appreciate computer art production. I tell her she needs to embrace the new media for what it is. I think she thinks much of the art that surrounds her today was done the way she learned it. Photoshop is not in her vocab.

Then there's me. The art muse ran in my family also. My own mother took a correspondence art course. She used to draw our hands and feet. If she was not so preoccupied with raising us she would have been a fine artist. I was always coloring and drawing on something. As a teen I took to drawing houses, buildings in pencil then ball point pen. I jumped from architecture to drafting electrical circuits in my professional life. To keep the artist alive, I kept sketchbooks. If you don't jot it down, dreams tend to dissipate, ideas fade away. I got my first computer never dreaming I could do art on it. Computer aided drafting swept the engineering world and over the years I received hard training. But I did learn to play, to doodle, to dabble with lines and shapes and colors, to escape the boundaries of electrical product design. I learned to do what's in my sketchbooks on my computer.

How did our encounter go? A picture is a picture whether on the canvas or on the PC screen. She wrestled with the concept of how it's done but was more a teacher than anything. She said I should draw scenario after scenario as if I was working with a pencil. I showed her how I could move elements around, tweak and adjust them in real time, even change color, density and size.
She liked my work but had reservations about my outcomes, even cringed at the thought of printing on a printer. The best part was she is still open to new technology, though she would never leave what she knows and I was not saddled with pursuing art by the way she learned it.

So some advice to you folks who play, doodle and dabble. You are an artist already, because you have the inkling to do it. You might need a little training to learn composition, skills and techniques to help your expression outcomes be appreciated by other people. If other artist are your target audience, you are playing to the wrong crowd. Perfection is the ultimate lie, can be a time wasting obsession and is only appreciated by others so afflicted. Don't cast aside so quickly the beginnings of your fascination, first sparks are like seeds. Keep sketchbooks, visual diaries as a matter of habit, the best ideas come when your not doing art. Don't put off for ever using what you have learned to do, find a way.

If you are like me there is no excuse. I can't afford Photoshop or any pricey artist software but I have discovered open sourced Inkscape and GIMP, they are free. They work well to manipulate digital pixels which is the point. And if I ever have the need or desire to get the pro stuff the option is still there. In the meanwhile I can do digital art with what tools are available to me. Life is sweet! And I haven't even mentioned Linuxville!

Over coming FOSS assumptions

I have touched on many topics users encounter in their approach to Linuxville. If you can get past the Mac and PC Burma-shave marketing noise, you enter into a place with new sights and sounds. The three most common remarks, "I didn't know Linux looked like that!" and "I didn't know you could do that in Linux!" or "Can I run my MS software in Linux?" Well, each operating system creates a world around itself, Linux is no different. The reason is to provide many solutions and meet the needs of the various kinds of users. Why one operating system should accommodate the applications born on another is a mystery only users dream of. Then there is Free and Open Source Software or FOSS. The idea is that software can be compiled or ported to run on different platforms. Some companies are reluctant to allow their applications to be ported to run on other OS's. Many of the applications born on the Linux platform however do not have this problem. Linux itself is free and for the most part open source. I say wow, an application like Open Office.org, will run on MS, Linux and Macs. Open source software gives you an added layer of freedom. You can move your files and your user work experience across platforms.

"I am uncertain of difference and change." I know the feeling. When ever I bought a new car, I struggled with the new car smell and feel, it's just not like my old car. Finally I come to grips, it has a steering wheel, brakes and gas pedal, the gear shifter (might be different), it sounds a bit different and the response. After a test drive I get the confidence, I can adjust to this, it's not that bad. The best car I ever had was a Pontiac 6000, roomy, zoomy and that startling orange dashboard back-lighting! Switching computer platforms can be like that.

What happens when a product doesn't live up to all the marketing hype? Seems the technical crowd go all out to warn users that a product experience might not be so great. And some users like political party faithfuls refuse to believe something is amiss. MS has had a few OS offerings that were not so hot. That Millennium thingy and now Vista are met with regrets. I like many others thought XP was way way better. I've seen some prelim reviews of the new MS Win7, looks promising. But being a Linux guy, I can afford to wait and see. Will MS restore the public confidence to buy their stuff without reservation, because it is on the shelf, the defacto standard? Stay tuned. Will Apple's Macs escape the Unix tractor beam or will Yul Brynner's face fall off revealing a cold kill you cyborg nature? The Borg are everywhere, you know. Then there are the Astronaut Farmer types who pieced Linux together in kits (distros) so you to can have your own low budget space program. Linuxville has more rocket silos per capa than any OS town.

Getting back to FOSS assumptions, the common thought is that if the software is on the shelf, it is approved for use. The shelf is where most go to find a user "product". It is only after folks have spent the bucks, invested in that platforms' economy to upgrade and replace, that they begin to wonder about alternatives. I have seen people buy Paintshop Pro because Photoshop was too expensive. They don't really have a need for the top shelf but feel any notch lower is better that MS Paint. Folks have their reasons to justify the purchase. A lot of the software dubbed free-ware has not been that great. The interfaces have been awkward or unattractive and the tools short of producing the results users want. FOSS has been escaping that low quality stigma. The various software projects are manned by armies of open source developers and users who endeavor to improve and debug FOSS to equal or surpass the stuff on the shelf. Can it be that I can get what I want for free? Not seen on TV or at your local PC merchant's store, but on the net? After all this time, many many people are clueless and could care less, some just don't know. I put to you to do the word of mouth thing.

Here are some results of my using FOSS applications (GIMP and Inkscape to be exact).

And I think I've showed this one before.

The FOSS graphics applications are different than the store bought ones but the tools are the same. I am not a professional working for a commercial concern so I am not needing commercial software. I am an artist, free to use what ever tools I find adequate to express my ideas. Usually the only thing that matters is the file format of the final artwork. Inkscape and GIMP will produce a number of file formats that are compatible with commercial software. I also use Abiword, Open Office.org and other FOSS with no ill side effects. The bottom line is that branding is not the only mark of quality or the stability/certainty of a piece of software. FOSS is called community developed and supported, but realize that they are not a free wheeling menagerie of aimless back-room nerds and code-heads. They are supported by many companies, groups and organizations who donate time, money and salaries to give you the stuff for free. And you can support the efforts, the same as they, with time and bucks, if you like.

In Linuxville you can go to the Linux Graphics Users forum, if you are graphically inclined. I hope I have sparked your interest in FOSS, in that case go here to enter into a whole new world. "Please come to Linuxville in the springtime, babe!"...........

greetings programs! or the force is with you!

Sci-fi cults are still the rage, seems we never want it to end after we are immersed. As a kid I was into Fireball XL5, Stingray and Super Car, they were science fiction series produced with marionettes, you know puppets instead of real actors. They had all the elements that are standard science fiction fare today, including the special effects. Google Gerry Anderson the genius behind them, very interesting. He also did Space 1999. Gerry's knack was great story telling, truly entertaining. Yeah I did the Lost In Space and then Star Trek thing, I can't recall the time frame. The most thrilling ones for me, Tron and Star Wars. As someone interested in building and furnishing design and then computer graphics, I was armoured by this visionary designer named Syd Mead. He had his hand into these movies. But the intriguing part was that the technology to produce the movies was being invented while the movies were being made. I get into the supplemental special feature discs because I just got to know how they made the movies. Tron was made before they had personal computers, before Jobs, Gates and Torvalds became names. It was a Unix world. What we enjoy today in graphics was pretty well worked out while Jobs and Gates were kids. They were progressors of the technology not inventors of the technology.

On my Linuxville (Xubuntu) desktop, I have an application called VLC or VideoLan media player. With the help of a few codecs (the stuff that reads video file formats), I can play consumer DVDs on my computer. What's so cool about that is the smaller display is so sharp, the detail is startling. The larger TV screen is fuzzier and because you sit back away from the screen you miss some details. I captured a screenshot of Princess Leia in the guest quarters of Bespin, Star Wars 5. I thought the architecture was stark but excitingly futuristic. And Tron, I might as well watch the movie again and again. Yes, I do collect YouTube videos, they are great for instructional subjects and of course jazz music. I really like to see the musicians in real-time performance rather than listening to doctored studio work. There are musicians who play the Chapman Stick instead of guitars and EWI (electronic wind instrument) instead of the traditional saxophone. I haven't the time to be fanatic, but to be able to amuse myself once in a while is fun.

A friend pointed out to me about video cams. You know how attached some are to their cellphone cams, but PC cams are not so utilized unless you count YouTube vids. My thought is that the Jetsons' have arrived years ago only we still can't get the videophone act together. To be able to call your friends, see and talk to them is wrought with problems. Oh, they can see me, am I presentable or will my exposure be misconstrued as porn peddling? Jane Jetson talked behind a mask when necessary, we all could have an avatar, a digital persona. We even have a big name for it, telecommuting or teleconferencing so as to isolate that activity from our daily telephone use. Hard to believe we are still uncomfortable with the concept of videophones. I guess we need a degree of privacy and anonymity. Still I would like to be able to call and see my parents, kids and grandkids, the phone call and occasional trip is just not adequate.

Predictions, yes, the mouse will slowly disappear, the mouse pad will become the pen pad. The wireless pen will be perfected. Walgreens will sell a matched pen set, a regular pen and a digital pen. The keyboard will be replaced by a digital display that has a virtual keyboard and able to double as pen input pad. The pen pad will be flexible of course. Ipods will be bluetooth, in fact the Blackberry will have ipod functions integrated into it. The ear-piece will access your phone/ipod/blackberry by voice and you will be assimilated. There will be no difference between TV/home theater equipment and computer equipment. All the elements will be interchangeable and reconfigurable. Your Blackberry will be a true universal remote as it becomes aware of all your bluetooth connections. The desktop computer will shrink to laptop size, yet still be component based. This new unit will extend the capability and power of a standard laptop. You will even be able to stack them blade server style, link them together for more power. Look for a read/write DVD for big files, movies but for small files, the jump drive will be here for ever. I hope the read/write CD stays around. Will hard drives vanish? Perhaps in the long term, but they are supreme for huge storage. You might see flash memory on the motherboard for the operating system and installed applications. Your Home directory or My Document directory should be put on a separate drive just for safety and security's sake. CRT's will become extinct to most users. If these thing aren't happening or don't, I remind you how hard it is for Yoda to see forward even via the force.

I just gotta live here!

Ever wonder why people live in areas prone to fire, floods, tornadoes, etc. !? I just can't figure it out. I guess it's not so simple in their minds either. How much do you endure before you move on to a safer environment. Lets look at the cyber world. With the popularity of cell phones and PDA's, do you practice safe text? Or is your cellphone camera an agent of voyeurism or cyber smut, but you think it is innocent play or just fun? Is your computer platform a disaster zone, but you endure it because it is the popular standard product or you just like it? I'm not here to judge but many times we open ourselves to things simply because they exist, are available and make poor choices regardless of consequences (ya know, the heat of the moment).

Now lets look at why I am in this mode of thought. My daughter has this computer, plus 1 teenage son and 1 even younger son. Like all kids they are into media, games, sports, other kids and the list is endless. The big three are social web sites, gaming web sites and music download sites. These are notorious for unwanted additions to your computer. If you don't have firewalls, anti-virus and spyware/malware protection, the range and amount of compromising files installed on your computer is incredible. The worst part is even with all the precautions in play the threats still come and they are not so easily removed. I really don't want to knock Microsoft XP or Vista, but they seem to be the targets of disaster, scams and mischief to abuse the user and the user's computer.

So, what can you do to cover yourself in spite of all the precautions you've already taken?

1. Get a USB hard drive big enough to backup your stuff. If you got a new computer with no stuff on it, that is the best time to make an image of your "untarnished system". Or burn that image to a DVD. The idea is to put your backup somewhere safe away from your computer. Get advice on the kind of backup. A backup program that has a propriety file format is useless if your operating system or that backup program is kaput. I prefer a direct disk image, a one for one copy. But get advice, that is important.

2. Don't misplace or discard your original software CD's, they are as vital as your keyboard. Tape them to the inside or outside of your PC case, put them in your wall safe. If you didn't get MS XP or Vista disks, look into getting them. This alone will save you from much agony. I have each computer's pamphlets and disks in large Ziplock bags.

3. After you saved your disks, docs and original installation, check your programs that have internet access. This is email programs, web browsers, media players and especially anti-virus and spyware/malware programs. There are bogus programs that are frontends to third party backdoor software. They have legit sounding names. Make sure the software meant to protect you is the real thing, do some research. Computer groups are a big resource. Think plug security holes, control outside access!

4. Either take the time to learn about your computer and/or have a PC Tech handy. Catch things when they are infant problems. Grown up problems are so messy and time consuming to fix. I am looking over at my daughters machine while I am typing this. The XP machine is doing an AVG Antivirus scan. So far there are 13 Trojan horse files found after 1 hour and 3 minutes of scanning.

5. You know that doctors warn about taking too much medicine. You don't want to take 3 aspirins for a headache. It will not work faster. There was 2 versions of one antivirus and 1 of another on this computer. Whether by zeal or unintentional mistake, multiples of software that scan your hard drive and your internet ports is not good, they can conflict with each other. Delete that trail-ware after it has expired, either buy the service or get freeware protection. I myself like AVG Antivirus free edition.

6. If you are curious or fed up with living in the MS Bermuda Triangle, move to Linuxville. Try Ubuntu, Kubuntu or Xubuntu (my favorite). If you insist on paying money, get a Mac. If you really, really must stay with Microsoft, do all you can to lessen intrusions to your system. Being careless will cost you more money and time. I am not saying that Linux is safer but it is less of a target. I am sure if everybody moves to Linux those cyber baddies will move there too. Yes, there are anti-virus, ad blockers, anti-spyware and such for Linux (just in case). So far, my 4 years of continuous Linux use has not had any attacks. I am still a little bit cautious.

7. Use open source applications and file formats when ever possible. They do not change just because the operating system is upgraded or the application has a new version. These open source formats can cross any platform, Mac, MS or Linux. This is very desirable and practical.

Well, I am going to give back my daughter's computer, the final scan is coming up clean. It is time consuming to clean a computer. Both the hardware and software need attention, sometimes the user needs adjusting also. We users are a habitual lot, not easy to upgrade our software, ya know. Those organic flash ROMs we call brains are buried under the real-time processor. Then our band-width doesn't always allow us to process all the info we deal with. We often resort to a pen and paper cache because our wiring is inadequate to access the resources we were born with. Older folks are hard wired, it takes continual effort to learn new tricks, ask any old dog. Young folks are being wired even as we speak, but hampered by poor choices and inexperience. But each stage of the game requires we use what awareness we have to figure it out. Family is always the key, young folk and old folks looking to each other to compensate for our shortnesses. User groups as a pool of experience and don't forget your local PC Tech. And then there's me, your Linuxville guide.

Metamorphasis - dropping out, then re-emerging.

Why is there so little time to do it all? You've got to figure out what's important, then account for due process. Things take time. Everything takes time. When your high school buddies drop out of sight and re-emerge as a garage band, you are shocked and amazed. You didn't know they could do that. You wondered what happened to them. And where was I when all this was going on? It is the same for computer users. Most folk are so engrossed in the daily use of Macs, MS XP and Vista, they never notice that there might be something else, something different in the computer world. This is why many new Linux users feel so much anxiety and have a hard time letting MS go. I went from dual-booting to virtual machines to two separate computers, one with MS the other with Linux. There are two different worlds, throw in Macs and then there are three. Each world can and does do the same things as the others but there are some areas that each excels in. Opinions can and do vary. The secret hook is that Macs and MS PC's boast in their professional and educational use as well as games. Can Linux do these things, yes, only Linux does not have the marketing machine or user base that says so and thus is not on most people's radar. So in spite of everything Linux is the choice of a smaller computer aware audience.

Due process, everything takes time, this is something I have embraced since childhood. To be left alone with my toys, to tinker, to figure it out, to go beyond the instructions and examples, I guess is in my nature. Then wonder, if Linux was your only operating system, would that be a gain or a hindrance in your world. I say often, am I the only one? Sure, there is a virtual community, but flesh and blood neighbors, friends and family are all in the MS or Mac worlds. So this desktop Linux is an continuing experiment and I am allowing myself to be immersed. I have had flings of Mac envy and falling back on MS but mostly enjoy what I am discovering about Linux. I've been through the rise and fall of a few operating systems, didn't try them all. There was Amiga OS, OS2, Commodore, Atari, BeOS, Next, and a couple more. You want a certain assurance that your OS and all it's applications are not a passing fad, that is too tied to the present time and present technology. An OS must have both the present and future in view, be flexible to grow, change and challenge, even press for innovation and be in peoples' face.

I will admit to having fanboy outbreaks about Linux, but against the backdrop of Mac and MS users entrenched in their daily use, I just want to say Linux deserves a spot as an alternative choice. Linux is not disappearing and is in fact improving with every iteration. I don't have any Linux tee shirts, I do carry around Linux live-CDs. I have a Steiff penguin which I've had before I found Linux (The Linux mascot is a penguin named Tux). I promote free and open source software (FOSS) every chance I get. Going a bit further, as a techie, I haven't had to remove any viruses, malware or those kinds of things in my many years of Linux use. Can't say the same for MS use in my life. Could be Linux is better, not a target so much, or my Internet habits are more selectively careful. I am not a social network fan, an avid game site visitor or a habitual music down loader. My interest are narrow as I don't have the time to see, do, or try everything. Yet I discover new things to explore within my choices. This is called focus. You never get good at anything if your roaming all over the place too much.

Oh, I know Photoshop is the pro-ware every artistic person should use, but there is other stuff out there like Inkscape and GIMP that if you spend enough time with could meet your needs for free. And you still, if you are so desirous, can buy and use Photoshop. You just can't run it in Linux, or can you? In any case I really like Inkscape and GIMP, finding them capable of extending my craft and honing my talents. I have not bothered to compare them to Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. If your artistic training pre-supposes that you will work for a commercial (professional occupation) concern, you should look at pro-ware, get it, use it. If not, you like me can choose differently. I know this to be true because I have known folks who mix their own photo-chemicals, grind powders to make their own paint colors or dyes, soldered computer boards to run other operating systems and don't buy consumer products when the do-it-yourself option is more fun. After you've made your choice of tools, you must focus to see what you can make them do. You can inquire what others using the tools you've chosen are doing, get tips, tutorials and ideas.

In the "Matrix" you go down the rabbit-hole to see how far it goes. You might pop, merge, become a super user or make a deal to go back. But can you really go back? The experience has changed you forever, added something dimensional to your thinking, your awareness. I have resigned to being a Linux guy, I think it's super. I have the flexibility to move between computer worlds, but I prefer Linuxville. I live on Xubuntu street and will visit from time to time other hoods, like Fedora road, Dynebolic avenue and Mandriva lane. The best is that things are both the same and different everywhere in Linuxville. Something familiar, something new.
Check out a travel brochure aka Linux distro web site, visit via live-CD or make yourself at home with an install...........you might be the One.

my imagination at work here

I just wanted to write a quick document of some sort so I click on Open Office.org and it takes...................f_o_r_e_v_e_r_! Because of all my experience of well founded knowledge I say it's a bloated program, overstuffed with bells and whistles and I need something lighter!?! Well, I was searching the Ubuntu friendly blogs and I ran across this tip:

When Open Office.org finally does open, click on Tools in the main menu bar, then Options at the bottom of the menu, then select the Memory category. On the right there is a box for Undo Memory usually set to "100". Do you really need 100 levels of Undo?? I reset this to 25. Then close Open Office.org. Now, reopen it and gee, it's kind of zippier at startup.

There's a 100 tips in the naked city, one of them might work for you. Oh, you thought tweaking like a geek means coding the command line of death. No, it's just that the default values for most of the programs you normally use can be adjusted for a more pleasurable Linux experience. Sorry, there is no single manual but there are tips circulating about Linuxville. The hardest thing for folks who don't know or think they know already is to ask for help. You just need to learn how to "google" your request. I start by typing just what I think in a question, then refine it until I get the results from the internet search I want. So "ubuntu tips" might get you more than you could read in one day. Or you might try "Open Office.org tips" or "using Open Office.org". In any event, a little targeted research yields lots of free online help.

Point shaving and computer buying have consequences resulting in aggravation and regret. It's true, most folk in trying to get the most for their money start to see what they can get away without. Ohooo!, this is a great computer and I can save even more if don't buy any extra memory. I bought my XP machine, had 512mb of ram and it is just fine. Later I find that XP runs way, way better with 1024mb of ram. I look back and realize I had the money at the time of purchase, but now have to justify the cost. So the lesson learned is to buy as much computer as you can afford the first time around. Maybe sacrifice the 500gig hard drive for a 250gig hard drive and spend that money on RAM. If your computer takes 2-4 gig ram, fill it up. You won't regret it later. Of couse the saying is that Linux will run fine with 512mb of ram and it does, but then you have applications to run on top of the operating system. Mostly it is no problem but if performance is important to you, more RAM brings better performance. RAM is for running programs, HARD DISKS are for storing programs and data. So when you see 500gig of hard disk, don't go "Ohooo!" until you see how much RAM comes with it.

To better manage your computer I also have this thought. You can buy that box with the huge hard drive and fill it up with all your stuffs. Then when something goes wrong with your box, virus, malware, spyware, and you need to fix it, chances are you didn't back it up. The operating system that has the problem is on the same hard drive as your stuffs. What if your operating system is hosed and you can't get at your stuffs? To all this I say forget the huge internal hard drive, buy the computer with a smaller hard drive and in addition buy a USB external hard drive (any size) instead. Then save personal stuffs to the external drive as a matter of habit. When/if something goes wrong with your operating system, your stuffs are safe and intact on the other drive. The USB drive is a portable and practical life saver. As Will Smith said in "Independence", "I got ta get me one of these!".

What I would like to see..............
A desktop computer designed to run virtual machines. What's a virtual machine? I have a Linux setup and had a program called Virtualbox. Virtualbox allowed me to run one operating system with it's applications inside of another. So within Linux I could run XP in a window running say Internet Explorer. Both OS's are running at the same time, sharing resources. Each operating system would be on it's own USB drive (or jump drive). The master operating system could load and run any of the attached operating systems in a window. All data would be stored on a large partitioned drive and sharing between operating systems is handled by the master operating system. You would need 4-8gig of RAM for multiple running OS's and a beefy video card.

Then I would like to see a pen input overlay I could put on my present LCD display. I don't really need the added dimension and cost of pen pressure input to vary line weight, I could buy a Wacom tablet for that. I need something more for CAD drawing although that mouse gesture thing might be handy. I would also mount the display in a slanted frame like a real drawing table on my desk with enough space for my keyboard to slide under it.

Computers are changing, the desktop is no longer what most envision. The laptop is now the normal choice. USB stuff is great stuff, smallish, convenient and portable, but Bluetooth is the rage from mice to Blackberries because it's wireless. The big game is to integrate it all into one seamless system.