Let's see, according to it's legendary beginnings Unix has been with us in some form since the days of machine code. Unix is still a workhorse for many "big iron" machines. It is so strange that the child of Unix known as Linux casts such a little shadow, given the popularity of the PC. Big Iron companies laughed at the PC idea which grew into a new market to be swept up by S. Jobs and B. Gates. I don't know why Torvalds didn't jump into the fray with them. It had to be timing, place and a different vision. It's the results that matter and the outcomes of three directions we deal with today suggest they did not stray from the paths they choose. Mr. Jobs packaged and marketed a hardware and software product. Mr. Gates markets a software solution for the hardware made by others. Finally Mr. Torvalds designed and maintains a kernel upon which the whole of Linux is built by others and runs on hardware built by others, mostly for free, mostly by word of mouth and internet. On a large scale Linux is not marketed like Microsoft products or Apple's, instead Linux lives on the internet inline with how it began. You won't find many Linux books in smaller libraries and no commercials on TV. Linux exist on the net, in the comings and goings of an active community. Linux is always being updated, tweaked, patched, revised and rewritten. Books tend to get out of date fast, especially if they have the live-cd in the back. Still if your local library has zilch and by chance has interlibrary loans like ours does, you just might be in luck. So if you really want to know what Linux is before you jump in or forget about it, look up these books. Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks by Rickford Grant is a great book with lots of details and yet not technical. Show and tell, yet not technical. The other book is Moving to Ubuntu Linux by Marcel Gagne'. Marcel has been "Cooking with Linux" for years and knows all the secrets. If you live in my neighborhood, you can't get'em till I'm done.
Well that's all for now, gotta run to Linux class, later
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Homeland Security begins at home.
When gov folks talk of homeland security, they immediately refer to threats from outside our borders. It's so apparent that gov policies, postures, stances and attitudes all contribute to the tensions expressed by people who are involved and then it's all aggravated by the media, giving us the play by play. But threats and intrusions come at us a number of ways and many don't require a misplaced nuke. If you own a computer, have online accounts and privileged access, you should be concerned with something called "the password". Shhhhhhh........., it's a secret that every user harbors and unfortunately easy to circumvent. A birthday, a pet name, even a social security number are commonly used to protect vital info. If you make it too cryptic, you yourself can't remember it, so you use reverse encryption and spell your name backwards. I am so surprised that with all the computers in use that the gov didn't insist that each citizen would install secure passwords to protect and cover ourselves. On our side we say we couldn't remember all the passwords to all the things we need them for. Yes, we could write them down, keep them hidden but handy, but that too is risky. I say go ahead, write them down, but lock them away somewhere away from your computer. Then employ a password safe on your computer. What's a password safe. It is a program that stores your passwords in a file/database in a highly encrypted format and either allows you to see the required password when needed or fills in the required password when needed. Access to this feature is often hidden behind a master password which should be cryptic but, you only have to remember one of them. So with the layers of encrypted strong passwords, you have adequate defence against intrusion and theft.
Most average folk are not under direct threat, but you just might be lucky. And you should know that these intruders don't guess your passwords, they use computers, so you should make it hard for them.
Ubuntu Linux has a few password safes or managers, I am looking at one called KeepassX. This was made for MS windows platforms years ago, is now open source and has a Linux version, hence the "X". Installation is too easy but how to use it must be a secret because I can't seem to find a tutorial on the home page or the project site. For more info go to KeepassX.org and to get a partial instruction check out this blog, Keepassx password manager.
So, the trick is to make your easily guessed passwords sound like Charlie Brown's mother, "Wah, wah, wah, wah!?!", then hide them behind another encrypted password. Do copy them down but store them elsewhere, off site preferred. Being safe takes a little practice, may be a bit inconvenient, but in the end you have one less backside to cover.
This is your Linuxville guide with this security bulletin and public service announcement. Please deadbolt your routers, PC's and padlock your mouse to the desk.
Most average folk are not under direct threat, but you just might be lucky. And you should know that these intruders don't guess your passwords, they use computers, so you should make it hard for them.
Ubuntu Linux has a few password safes or managers, I am looking at one called KeepassX. This was made for MS windows platforms years ago, is now open source and has a Linux version, hence the "X". Installation is too easy but how to use it must be a secret because I can't seem to find a tutorial on the home page or the project site. For more info go to KeepassX.org and to get a partial instruction check out this blog, Keepassx password manager.
So, the trick is to make your easily guessed passwords sound like Charlie Brown's mother, "Wah, wah, wah, wah!?!", then hide them behind another encrypted password. Do copy them down but store them elsewhere, off site preferred. Being safe takes a little practice, may be a bit inconvenient, but in the end you have one less backside to cover.
This is your Linuxville guide with this security bulletin and public service announcement. Please deadbolt your routers, PC's and padlock your mouse to the desk.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Zen and the art of...............
Hey folks, I just turned 57 and I am thinking about lessons learned that you pixel-pushers can appropriate. Doing art of any kind on the computer does require personal skills not directly taught in the classroom but they are significant none the less. We as a society are caught up in a web of instant gratification, fast answers, fly-by's, hit and run and browse. Clipart was the thing for a while and you can download many user graphic files, but to do your own......... I think this is especially true when approaching Linux and open source software after using popular MS platform stuff for a time, being convinced of their necessity and perfection. OR you are approaching this stuff for the first time and you have overwhelming questions. This is where zen comes in. You've got to push aside all the noise and actually learn to use the software. As you sit transfixed on your computer screen the world around you fades away and you enter a serendipity and splendor no one knows but you. But I know you want it like on the Matrix movie, an instantaneous download, a gasp and an outcry "I know Ubuntu". Come on folks, that's dream stuff. I can't tell you how many artists I know who go into seclusion to re-hone skills, perfect a technique or learn a new art form. You have to take time to be alone with it, to see how you and it can work together, to collaborate, to make magic. You have to spend the time.
This is the enigma of art, the sacrifice of learning. There is the pain of learning and we feel it because it's inconvenient and constant (teens know this), it changes all of our world view and we out grow things, we change.
Back in the near past, you learned by pouring over manuals and viewing screen shots, then came powerpoint presentations. Today we have those things plus video tutorials. To be able to see the application in action while it's being explained and even being able to open the app and work along side is the clincher. Once you say to yourself,"I think I can do this" you can begin to ask "and how do I do this also?". We have gone from trails of breadcrumbs to trails of loaves. Look on that rock, is that a sandwich and ice tea? In any case, someone has gone before you and prepared a meal for your enjoyment and it's free. There are a number of graphics apps in Linux, these are the big three on my desktop.
Blender 3D is a wonderful though slightly complex modeling and animation program. The Blender web site has instructional videos that are very good. Also checkout the Blender Underground for a start.
GIMP folks can check out Biehl on line tutorials, this is one of many.
Inkscape users can go to Hot Buttered IT
I also have Xara Xtreme and K-3D which have video tutorials too. Videos are great because sometimes describing a workflow with text can be combersome. Seeing what to click and what to expect afterwards clears up a lot of newbie nerves. And you all know what a picture's worth, right? So, at a time when schools aren't teaching what you are interested in, cost are too high, time is limited and professional software way too expensive, you can get for free what you need to learn the tools of the trade. No, Photoshop is not a tool, it is an application. In it there are tools, brushes, vector curves, gradients, fills, strokes, etc., stuff you can also find in GIMP and Inkscape. Learn how to use them for free and transfer that knowledge to Photoshop if you need to. Beats starting from scratch and being in debt at the same time. Think about it, then go for it!!
This is the enigma of art, the sacrifice of learning. There is the pain of learning and we feel it because it's inconvenient and constant (teens know this), it changes all of our world view and we out grow things, we change.
Back in the near past, you learned by pouring over manuals and viewing screen shots, then came powerpoint presentations. Today we have those things plus video tutorials. To be able to see the application in action while it's being explained and even being able to open the app and work along side is the clincher. Once you say to yourself,"I think I can do this" you can begin to ask "and how do I do this also?". We have gone from trails of breadcrumbs to trails of loaves. Look on that rock, is that a sandwich and ice tea? In any case, someone has gone before you and prepared a meal for your enjoyment and it's free. There are a number of graphics apps in Linux, these are the big three on my desktop.
Blender 3D is a wonderful though slightly complex modeling and animation program. The Blender web site has instructional videos that are very good. Also checkout the Blender Underground for a start.
GIMP folks can check out Biehl on line tutorials, this is one of many.
Inkscape users can go to Hot Buttered IT
I also have Xara Xtreme and K-3D which have video tutorials too. Videos are great because sometimes describing a workflow with text can be combersome. Seeing what to click and what to expect afterwards clears up a lot of newbie nerves. And you all know what a picture's worth, right? So, at a time when schools aren't teaching what you are interested in, cost are too high, time is limited and professional software way too expensive, you can get for free what you need to learn the tools of the trade. No, Photoshop is not a tool, it is an application. In it there are tools, brushes, vector curves, gradients, fills, strokes, etc., stuff you can also find in GIMP and Inkscape. Learn how to use them for free and transfer that knowledge to Photoshop if you need to. Beats starting from scratch and being in debt at the same time. Think about it, then go for it!!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
guide to overcoming user inertia
Had to replace the kitchen faucet, looks so simple to swap the new for the old. Things I didn't count on hindered me. The new unit is improved over the old one, but you have to remove the old one first. There was no room to get a wrench in there so I had to remove the sink from the counter. The sink hold down clips were also in awkward places. OK, I got those clips off, the sink out and the old faucet unmounted. I didn't mention I also had to disconnect the drains and close the water supply lines. Putting the new stuff in was easy but there were details so like a good boy I read the instructions. I looked at the recommended order of assembly, counted the parts and took note of the no wench warning. A no wench warning? Seems some users would tighten too much. Then I put it all back together and it worked fine except it leaked. All the twisting of flexible and swivel connections and my finger tight fittings at the faucet end worked themselves loose. Being a better design than the previous faucet, I could reach up into the tight space to unscrew the faucet. I carefully tightened the fittings (using a wrench) and remounted the assembly. It works fine.
I wrote all this to say a few things concerning software, especially Linux and open source software. It may not look like what you are use to seeing, yet have the same tools or functions. It may cost less, be free or not be what is in popular use. But just because you are unfamiliar with it doesn't mean it's inferior, lacking in quality or too hard to learn. What is helping me, because I dislike reading manuals, is the instructional videos on the web. I know how hard it is for some to admit you don't understand, can't figure it out or don't get the logic. Manuals aren't for dumb people but are a shortcut for smart people to save the time and aggravation of having to figure it out. Instructional videos are even better, they give you a chance to see how it works with explanations in real time.
I am beginning to play with the graphics apps on my Ubuntu Linux machine. I have Inkscape, GIMP, Blender3D, K-3D and a few others. The videos save me from hours of reading and static screenshots. I used Rhino3D on XP but was afraid of Blender3D because the interface is so different. The videos are taking away that fear, I am beginning to comprehend what's going on there. It is the same with GIMP and Inkscape, the videos make the approach sane. Making instructional videos is quite an art, so I extend my thanks to all you who spend time explaining step by step how to use these applications so I can learn. So you see, here is the Linuxville guide getting guided by other guides, cool.
I wrote all this to say a few things concerning software, especially Linux and open source software. It may not look like what you are use to seeing, yet have the same tools or functions. It may cost less, be free or not be what is in popular use. But just because you are unfamiliar with it doesn't mean it's inferior, lacking in quality or too hard to learn. What is helping me, because I dislike reading manuals, is the instructional videos on the web. I know how hard it is for some to admit you don't understand, can't figure it out or don't get the logic. Manuals aren't for dumb people but are a shortcut for smart people to save the time and aggravation of having to figure it out. Instructional videos are even better, they give you a chance to see how it works with explanations in real time.
I am beginning to play with the graphics apps on my Ubuntu Linux machine. I have Inkscape, GIMP, Blender3D, K-3D and a few others. The videos save me from hours of reading and static screenshots. I used Rhino3D on XP but was afraid of Blender3D because the interface is so different. The videos are taking away that fear, I am beginning to comprehend what's going on there. It is the same with GIMP and Inkscape, the videos make the approach sane. Making instructional videos is quite an art, so I extend my thanks to all you who spend time explaining step by step how to use these applications so I can learn. So you see, here is the Linuxville guide getting guided by other guides, cool.
Friday, September 19, 2008
the world according to Arno
If you've worn the same glasses for years and think your vision is just fine thank you, then it's time for an upgrade. Perhaps your vision has degraded and you've gotten use to it. I was thinking of GM and the announcement of the Volt. It really looks sharp and engineered to the hilt. But wait, there are problems afoot that shorten my praise. In this country we like to argue the extremes, then pick the lessor of two evils. We bash the middle ground as being too much or not enough. Then with great fanfare and apologies we reluctantly accept a somewhat more viable solution from the middle.
Batteries suck, always have, always will and putting more than one in a car is a portable environmental disaster in a neighborhood near you. Can you imagine the impact of millions of car batteries needing to be recharged/recycled, talk about hazardous waste!! And I thought old tires were bad. I guess we can bury them next door to the nuke waste. And can the present power grid handle all the electric only cars recharging or will we all have to buy not so green gas powered generators to charge up our car batteries? How to charge your car after a storm knocks out the power will be a best seller book.
We have had diesel electric trains for years now. The systems are not that complex and they haul much of our country's resources. A diesel engine, an alternator for the accessories and one for the drive motors, and the drive motors and drive electronics. You mean we can't put similar in trucks and cars. The hybrid is the best solution. An alternative fueled and efficient power generating unit and electric motor combo is a wise/less costly solution. We won't have to rebuild infrastructure or change personal driving habits or give financial institutions more means to enslave us. Personally I don't like poop scooping for my dog/cat or plugging in my car, daily.
Dear GM, even you can't afford this car, the Volt. There are not enough upper middle class folk who can or will buy your car so you can recoup your investment and I, average American car buyer, can buy 3 gas guzzlers (from you) for what the Volt would sell for.
Here's what you can do to save us and you:
1. Develop an auto recycling industry that reclaims materials for new uses instead of maintaining old cars, (old steel mills will do). Quit building the present gas guzzling cars. Watch the movie, "Who killed the Electric Car?" and deliver the same fate to the gas guzzler, boy would that be ironic!!
2. Develop programs to trade our gas guzzlers in for a greener alternative, and don't resell or export. Did I say recall?
3. Develop incentives, discounts, tax credits, insurance cuts, in other words, lower the cost of living to own a hybrid vehicle.
4. Gas guzzling car commercials have got to stop. Can't imagine green if we don't see green on TV. Popular faces should drive green on TV.
5. Let your workers get them, drive them, show them off and post their unscripted opinions on the web.
6. Lose the trickle down game plan. Build for a targeted tad lower than middle-class market as the basic standard affordable product. Fuel the amenities and accessories after-market. If affluent folks (a smaller market) want more car, build it later. Build up don't dumb down.
What has this got to do with Linux and open source. In principle we have been life long consumers who leave it to the pros to design and deliver products, yet they keep an eye on us to see what we do with their products. Some very innovative ideas have come out the back yards of car owners. The race tracks and car shows are full of them. Then they borrow, buy or steal the ideas and decide if they should be shelved or marketed. Why patent an idea not to use it or keep others from using it? I am glad there is Linux and open source, not owned by a company, I have rights to tweak and play with. And if I discover a new use or process, I have opportunity to do something new and different. Will car technology become so sophisticated that dealers will lock the hood? Will cars become so expensive that leasing is the only option? Will we become paying users of home, car and software, instead of owners? Has the market accessed our potential life time worth and priced ownership just out of our reach to fuel the market? There are more questions to ponder while sitting here at the Linuxville desk................
Batteries suck, always have, always will and putting more than one in a car is a portable environmental disaster in a neighborhood near you. Can you imagine the impact of millions of car batteries needing to be recharged/recycled, talk about hazardous waste!! And I thought old tires were bad. I guess we can bury them next door to the nuke waste. And can the present power grid handle all the electric only cars recharging or will we all have to buy not so green gas powered generators to charge up our car batteries? How to charge your car after a storm knocks out the power will be a best seller book.
We have had diesel electric trains for years now. The systems are not that complex and they haul much of our country's resources. A diesel engine, an alternator for the accessories and one for the drive motors, and the drive motors and drive electronics. You mean we can't put similar in trucks and cars. The hybrid is the best solution. An alternative fueled and efficient power generating unit and electric motor combo is a wise/less costly solution. We won't have to rebuild infrastructure or change personal driving habits or give financial institutions more means to enslave us. Personally I don't like poop scooping for my dog/cat or plugging in my car, daily.
Dear GM, even you can't afford this car, the Volt. There are not enough upper middle class folk who can or will buy your car so you can recoup your investment and I, average American car buyer, can buy 3 gas guzzlers (from you) for what the Volt would sell for.
Here's what you can do to save us and you:
1. Develop an auto recycling industry that reclaims materials for new uses instead of maintaining old cars, (old steel mills will do). Quit building the present gas guzzling cars. Watch the movie, "Who killed the Electric Car?" and deliver the same fate to the gas guzzler, boy would that be ironic!!
2. Develop programs to trade our gas guzzlers in for a greener alternative, and don't resell or export. Did I say recall?
3. Develop incentives, discounts, tax credits, insurance cuts, in other words, lower the cost of living to own a hybrid vehicle.
4. Gas guzzling car commercials have got to stop. Can't imagine green if we don't see green on TV. Popular faces should drive green on TV.
5. Let your workers get them, drive them, show them off and post their unscripted opinions on the web.
6. Lose the trickle down game plan. Build for a targeted tad lower than middle-class market as the basic standard affordable product. Fuel the amenities and accessories after-market. If affluent folks (a smaller market) want more car, build it later. Build up don't dumb down.
What has this got to do with Linux and open source. In principle we have been life long consumers who leave it to the pros to design and deliver products, yet they keep an eye on us to see what we do with their products. Some very innovative ideas have come out the back yards of car owners. The race tracks and car shows are full of them. Then they borrow, buy or steal the ideas and decide if they should be shelved or marketed. Why patent an idea not to use it or keep others from using it? I am glad there is Linux and open source, not owned by a company, I have rights to tweak and play with. And if I discover a new use or process, I have opportunity to do something new and different. Will car technology become so sophisticated that dealers will lock the hood? Will cars become so expensive that leasing is the only option? Will we become paying users of home, car and software, instead of owners? Has the market accessed our potential life time worth and priced ownership just out of our reach to fuel the market? There are more questions to ponder while sitting here at the Linuxville desk................
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
real world and virtual world collide
As a young teen really wanting a car filled my dreams. In the mail I would get this aftermarket car catalog "Whitney's". It was thick and full of fuzzy dice to bored and stroked engines. I used to mark it up with pencils, then pens, then highlighters, then markers. You could buy the parts to build a car from scratch. My favorite was the sports car built on a Volkswagen Beetle chassis. If you thought Pokeymon geeks were bad, you haven't known car geeks. Anyway, this is what Linux is like, a computer aftermarket. The only thing missing is the catalog. If the internet were not here, there would be a thick catalog, listing and describing all the parts. You would know what Linux is, how the parts work together and how to get it the way you want it. Actually if you know where to look the internet resources are quite good.
What's on the Linuxville guide's real desktop these days? Besides my excursion into the annals of computer graphics history, I am looking at the kinds of art that can be produced on a computer. Beyond digital photos, web pages, ad art, banners, game design, animation and special effects, if you have intent to print, there is still a lot. I have also discovered that if you plan to do more than web surfing and email you might need more computer resources than average users need. Graphics tend to be memory hogs the more complex they are.
Been library hopping lately. Even though I can reserve a book from anywhere in the system and have it delivered to my local branch, I am disappointed by what I see on the physical shelves. Book procurers only buy mostly MS windows related books. This is in spite of how many people already know about MS Windows in good detail. Linux which is free to own and use gets very little shelf space. I am not so worried about Linux as it lives on the web. But free and open source applications get even less shelf space. The GIMP books are rare, Open Office.org books are also rare. People use public libraries as a free resource, yet when they get there only find books about the most expensive software in the world. Talk about opportunities lost to lift and educate the masses. The reference librarian should be quick to say if you don't have this software try this open source one. Then I must complain about the Photoshop presence. The computer graphics sections has tons of Photoshop books then also again in the digital photography section. Two subjects not covered in my travels, digital art as in actual drawing/sketching and digital painting as in fine art. Yeah, you can find comic/game animation, sometimes computer fantasy art, but far too many digital photography books. Books you do find are on a professional level, not beginner or intermediate levels. Libraries should be in the educational opportunity and idea possibility business. Linux, open source software, computer art and design all fit into these themes.
What's on the Linuxville guide's real desktop these days? Besides my excursion into the annals of computer graphics history, I am looking at the kinds of art that can be produced on a computer. Beyond digital photos, web pages, ad art, banners, game design, animation and special effects, if you have intent to print, there is still a lot. I have also discovered that if you plan to do more than web surfing and email you might need more computer resources than average users need. Graphics tend to be memory hogs the more complex they are.
Been library hopping lately. Even though I can reserve a book from anywhere in the system and have it delivered to my local branch, I am disappointed by what I see on the physical shelves. Book procurers only buy mostly MS windows related books. This is in spite of how many people already know about MS Windows in good detail. Linux which is free to own and use gets very little shelf space. I am not so worried about Linux as it lives on the web. But free and open source applications get even less shelf space. The GIMP books are rare, Open Office.org books are also rare. People use public libraries as a free resource, yet when they get there only find books about the most expensive software in the world. Talk about opportunities lost to lift and educate the masses. The reference librarian should be quick to say if you don't have this software try this open source one. Then I must complain about the Photoshop presence. The computer graphics sections has tons of Photoshop books then also again in the digital photography section. Two subjects not covered in my travels, digital art as in actual drawing/sketching and digital painting as in fine art. Yeah, you can find comic/game animation, sometimes computer fantasy art, but far too many digital photography books. Books you do find are on a professional level, not beginner or intermediate levels. Libraries should be in the educational opportunity and idea possibility business. Linux, open source software, computer art and design all fit into these themes.
Monday, September 15, 2008
spitting out ideas
I always thought that in the present times of generational confusion and economic limitations it's good to see what you can do with what you already have. The caveat is that we want something new and not a remake, retro or sequel. So I am proposing a few ideas.
1. Instead of chanting foreign oil independence with the motive of maintaining present oil use levels, preach conservation, industries, materials, processes and machines that use less oil. By using less we have more. How much oil does an electric car or hybrid use compared to a regular gas car used by a typical driver. We have diesel/electric trains but no diesel/electric trucks. Now multiply all that times all the cars and trucks on the road. It's basically the marketing folks who think we can't or won't change.
2. To give you geeks something to do, how about a wing processing unit. Instead of buying a whole new computer and ditching or recycling the old one, a wing processing unit could plug into existing computers to add processing power. Dyne:bolic Linux has the ability to move processing load to faster networked computers. The wing processing unit only needs a cpu, memory, ethernet, maybe a CD player and would appear as a tiny server. I could keep my present desktop a lot longer and just upgrade/replace/add a wing processing unit. Less waste all around and cheaper to build.
3. Beam me up Scotti! A new wireless phone attachment, not the Borg-like ear piece but a lapel badge/shoulder pin. I could stay at my computer in the other room and not chase after the handset when it rings. Also being a comm link I could tell my wife I got it with out yelling through out the house. Would be great at an office too.
4. On the desktop the browser could be the front end to the operating system and access the whole computer. It could be customized like a web page, use icons, links, whatever, yet be the internet browser and file manager like KDE's Konqueror only better.
The Linux class explored DSL and Puppy Linux and we did it through Virtualbox on a Vista machine. Although Linux is exciting in any form to me, Virtualbox does present limitations that require tweaking so it's not in the way. Vista did as it was supposed to do, present us with the blue screen of death when the system crashed. Virtual machines can be touchy at times. DSL or Damn Small Linux is only 50mg on a CD and can be easily put on a jump drive. You would be impressed at the applications included in this really portable Linux. Puppy is Puppy, fresh, agile and quite complete. I just got a version of Puppy called Grafpup, just right for the graphics minded, like yours truly. By the experience of the class DSL and Puppy ran just fine from the live-CD or installed on a hard drive. Oh, I didn't mention ReactOS which is supposed to be an open source version of MS Windows. It was interesting to see and even though it's in the early stages of development some promising stuff is there. It probably would have run better out side of Virtualbox also.
On a personal note, I am trying to find time to get my artistic act together. The many public libraries have a zillion books on Photoshop, Illustrator and other Microsoft platform software. The latest Linux and graphics applications are documented and explored on the web, the libraries have near nothing. Shame on them. You have to realize that Linux was born on the web and lives on the web to this day. But at the library I did find many books about the history of computer graphics and computer art. Yes, there was computer art before Mac, MS, Photoshop and all that. I laugh at young people for what they don't know that was started just before "their time". No, the chisel and stone was before my time too.
1. Instead of chanting foreign oil independence with the motive of maintaining present oil use levels, preach conservation, industries, materials, processes and machines that use less oil. By using less we have more. How much oil does an electric car or hybrid use compared to a regular gas car used by a typical driver. We have diesel/electric trains but no diesel/electric trucks. Now multiply all that times all the cars and trucks on the road. It's basically the marketing folks who think we can't or won't change.
2. To give you geeks something to do, how about a wing processing unit. Instead of buying a whole new computer and ditching or recycling the old one, a wing processing unit could plug into existing computers to add processing power. Dyne:bolic Linux has the ability to move processing load to faster networked computers. The wing processing unit only needs a cpu, memory, ethernet, maybe a CD player and would appear as a tiny server. I could keep my present desktop a lot longer and just upgrade/replace/add a wing processing unit. Less waste all around and cheaper to build.
3. Beam me up Scotti! A new wireless phone attachment, not the Borg-like ear piece but a lapel badge/shoulder pin. I could stay at my computer in the other room and not chase after the handset when it rings. Also being a comm link I could tell my wife I got it with out yelling through out the house. Would be great at an office too.
4. On the desktop the browser could be the front end to the operating system and access the whole computer. It could be customized like a web page, use icons, links, whatever, yet be the internet browser and file manager like KDE's Konqueror only better.
The Linux class explored DSL and Puppy Linux and we did it through Virtualbox on a Vista machine. Although Linux is exciting in any form to me, Virtualbox does present limitations that require tweaking so it's not in the way. Vista did as it was supposed to do, present us with the blue screen of death when the system crashed. Virtual machines can be touchy at times. DSL or Damn Small Linux is only 50mg on a CD and can be easily put on a jump drive. You would be impressed at the applications included in this really portable Linux. Puppy is Puppy, fresh, agile and quite complete. I just got a version of Puppy called Grafpup, just right for the graphics minded, like yours truly. By the experience of the class DSL and Puppy ran just fine from the live-CD or installed on a hard drive. Oh, I didn't mention ReactOS which is supposed to be an open source version of MS Windows. It was interesting to see and even though it's in the early stages of development some promising stuff is there. It probably would have run better out side of Virtualbox also.
On a personal note, I am trying to find time to get my artistic act together. The many public libraries have a zillion books on Photoshop, Illustrator and other Microsoft platform software. The latest Linux and graphics applications are documented and explored on the web, the libraries have near nothing. Shame on them. You have to realize that Linux was born on the web and lives on the web to this day. But at the library I did find many books about the history of computer graphics and computer art. Yes, there was computer art before Mac, MS, Photoshop and all that. I laugh at young people for what they don't know that was started just before "their time". No, the chisel and stone was before my time too.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
lipstick on pigs and pitbulls, a true standard
Lipstick on a pig is a funny expression in America. Dressing up the same old thing as a new and exciting product is common practice. You already invested lots of resources, you believe so strongly in your product and you can't see anything wrong with it, yet people are complaining about it. So, you repackage it, describe it as something people want and hope they don't notice.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94481288 This link is to an NPR story, a farmer who tried to actually put lipstick on a pig.
Let's look at the problems. Pigs aren't very attractive, pigs don't have lips, people tend to eat pigs, pitbulls might look better than pigs, don't have lips either, have potential to bite their masters and neighbors. Of course I am eluding to the upcoming election but the trend is a common practice. Microsoft is using the sitcom comedian Seinfeld as lipstick for his pig and the Big 3 American car makers are pushing gas burning new cars as "greener" (green lipstick, yuck!). There is quite a list on which people are smearing the lipstick these days. If you have that kind of mind, you might think lipstick is an improvement, but there is something deceiving here. In a country that boast in technical prowess, inventiveness and more educated people per square mile, we certainly have a lot of pig salesman and lipstick peddlers. Oh, and don't forget, visionary people who put the two together.
I talk about many things but Linux mainly. If some company were to advertise Linux, thus marketing Linux as a product, would it become the posterchild for the whole Linux world? Would it represent or define what Linux is in the minds of would be users? Would people have an expectation of what Linux should be because some brandname product has set the standard? Would ad folks find ways to say Linux is a pig or pitbull so they could put lipstick on it? Truth be told, Linux is just the kernel. You could possibly fit it on a floppy disk. Hey, you could embed the kernel in the flashROM on the motherboard!! No, motherboards would no longer be useful for any OS of your choice and if Linux were a brandname we'd probably have to ditch the word "distro".
A friend hip me to Artweaver, a MS windows only program. It has two main features, it's free and it looks like Photoshop. Some folks are applauding it, some are bashing GIMP instead. Looking like Photoshop and being free seems to be a winning combo, yet GIMPshop takes the hits because it's still GIMP, go figure. GIMPshop is GIMP with the tools arranged to look like Photoshop. In this case free and like Photoshop is not winning, hummmmm....... It's really too bad comedians can't screen their audiences. Ever wonder how they smuggle in a sack of tomatoes to throw. I think the solution is simple. Make the Photoshop style interface the standard then have a button you can push to switch to the traditional GIMP desktop, if you want it. As for Artweaver, sorry, it's not really free or close to being free until an open source Linux version comes out. Look at Xara Xtreme. You have to ask if you need a conversion program for files to work with the other programs you are using.
The Linux class is going great, exploring the live-CD OS is fun. It is cool to hear what others have discovered and get their spin on it. One person is looking at ReactOS, a couple more at Puppy, DSL and whatever. It is hard to get all the best or preferred stuff in one distro, we like to emphasize different things. So read the instructions that say your basic "kit" includes this, build and adjust to suit and don't forget mileage may vary. I did Dyne:bolic Linux last class, it was fun and it has features I wish were in Ubuntu.
I have this view of Linux. The kernel is the part that can be compiled to run on any machine and orchestrates the interaction between the other parts (also compiled to suit), the libraries and utilities and user interface and the applications. All the pieces and parts may run great in some situations or poorly thus distros have been devised of stuff that work great together. It may be cosmetic (different GUI), an arrangement set for a purpose (server/desktop) or a hardware requirement (32 bit Intel/64 bit AMD) or a language/cultural thing that sets a distro apart. You the user can start by selecting a distro that seems right for you and adjust it for a better fit. I also believe from a user's side certain things should be transparent to any OS. Common fonts and file formats should be released from the control of any computer OS platform company. My documents should look great in any application, on any platform and in any web browser, and I should be able to move data without application specific conversion, between similar programs. The SVG format and the FLI formats are examples, different apps have different implementations of the same standard, thus they are not really standards, right! Come on folks, it's what the user uses that should be a standard.
On the Ubuntu front, Mark Shuttleworth has put out the call to all developers to sell their lipstick stock and put real effort into making Ubuntu look as good if not better than Vista and Mac OS. I am glad they won't waste time trying to discover which new mascot looks good in lipstick or a grille of human dentures. I think integrating all the effects of compiz was fun as in graffiti, but polish is more a fine art. Let's see Suse's got green, Mandrivia's got yellow, Fedora's got blue, Ubuntu's got brown, hey isn't that like branding, having a signature desktop? The default desktop is big stuff, it makes the first impression and sets the tone. Brown needs lots of help.
Ubuntu users need to weigh in, not complain, but offer alternatives, solutions and ideas. That's the Linux way.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94481288 This link is to an NPR story, a farmer who tried to actually put lipstick on a pig.
Let's look at the problems. Pigs aren't very attractive, pigs don't have lips, people tend to eat pigs, pitbulls might look better than pigs, don't have lips either, have potential to bite their masters and neighbors. Of course I am eluding to the upcoming election but the trend is a common practice. Microsoft is using the sitcom comedian Seinfeld as lipstick for his pig and the Big 3 American car makers are pushing gas burning new cars as "greener" (green lipstick, yuck!). There is quite a list on which people are smearing the lipstick these days. If you have that kind of mind, you might think lipstick is an improvement, but there is something deceiving here. In a country that boast in technical prowess, inventiveness and more educated people per square mile, we certainly have a lot of pig salesman and lipstick peddlers. Oh, and don't forget, visionary people who put the two together.
I talk about many things but Linux mainly. If some company were to advertise Linux, thus marketing Linux as a product, would it become the posterchild for the whole Linux world? Would it represent or define what Linux is in the minds of would be users? Would people have an expectation of what Linux should be because some brandname product has set the standard? Would ad folks find ways to say Linux is a pig or pitbull so they could put lipstick on it? Truth be told, Linux is just the kernel. You could possibly fit it on a floppy disk. Hey, you could embed the kernel in the flashROM on the motherboard!! No, motherboards would no longer be useful for any OS of your choice and if Linux were a brandname we'd probably have to ditch the word "distro".
A friend hip me to Artweaver, a MS windows only program. It has two main features, it's free and it looks like Photoshop. Some folks are applauding it, some are bashing GIMP instead. Looking like Photoshop and being free seems to be a winning combo, yet GIMPshop takes the hits because it's still GIMP, go figure. GIMPshop is GIMP with the tools arranged to look like Photoshop. In this case free and like Photoshop is not winning, hummmmm....... It's really too bad comedians can't screen their audiences. Ever wonder how they smuggle in a sack of tomatoes to throw. I think the solution is simple. Make the Photoshop style interface the standard then have a button you can push to switch to the traditional GIMP desktop, if you want it. As for Artweaver, sorry, it's not really free or close to being free until an open source Linux version comes out. Look at Xara Xtreme. You have to ask if you need a conversion program for files to work with the other programs you are using.
The Linux class is going great, exploring the live-CD OS is fun. It is cool to hear what others have discovered and get their spin on it. One person is looking at ReactOS, a couple more at Puppy, DSL and whatever. It is hard to get all the best or preferred stuff in one distro, we like to emphasize different things. So read the instructions that say your basic "kit" includes this, build and adjust to suit and don't forget mileage may vary. I did Dyne:bolic Linux last class, it was fun and it has features I wish were in Ubuntu.
I have this view of Linux. The kernel is the part that can be compiled to run on any machine and orchestrates the interaction between the other parts (also compiled to suit), the libraries and utilities and user interface and the applications. All the pieces and parts may run great in some situations or poorly thus distros have been devised of stuff that work great together. It may be cosmetic (different GUI), an arrangement set for a purpose (server/desktop) or a hardware requirement (32 bit Intel/64 bit AMD) or a language/cultural thing that sets a distro apart. You the user can start by selecting a distro that seems right for you and adjust it for a better fit. I also believe from a user's side certain things should be transparent to any OS. Common fonts and file formats should be released from the control of any computer OS platform company. My documents should look great in any application, on any platform and in any web browser, and I should be able to move data without application specific conversion, between similar programs. The SVG format and the FLI formats are examples, different apps have different implementations of the same standard, thus they are not really standards, right! Come on folks, it's what the user uses that should be a standard.
On the Ubuntu front, Mark Shuttleworth has put out the call to all developers to sell their lipstick stock and put real effort into making Ubuntu look as good if not better than Vista and Mac OS. I am glad they won't waste time trying to discover which new mascot looks good in lipstick or a grille of human dentures. I think integrating all the effects of compiz was fun as in graffiti, but polish is more a fine art. Let's see Suse's got green, Mandrivia's got yellow, Fedora's got blue, Ubuntu's got brown, hey isn't that like branding, having a signature desktop? The default desktop is big stuff, it makes the first impression and sets the tone. Brown needs lots of help.
Ubuntu users need to weigh in, not complain, but offer alternatives, solutions and ideas. That's the Linux way.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
............And other neat tricks
Thank goodness for clarity, I think I got it now. Dyne 2.5.2 does in fact do clustering. The computers have to be on the same network, and their IP's and hostnames listed in a config file. When they see each other they automatically share the work load. Of course they have to be running Dyne to do it. Are there trade offs?? YES! Networking several older machines will probably cost more to run than one fairly high powered newer one. I only have two, so no big deal, how about you? Then with Synergy you can use them all with one keyboard/video/mouse. If you like to tinker and toy and experiment, YOU can do it. Yeah, MS and Apple only let you use their stuff in the prescribed ways. Linux lets you tinker with hardware and code, invent new systems, be a classical "hacker" if you want to. The word "hacker" has been demonized in a negative sense. So if you can understand my advice, if you want your kids to be just computer users, MS and Apple are ok I guess, but if you want them to be something more, Dynebolic Linux opens too many doors to count. Aside from the great applications for multimedia creation, you can do system setups and configs yet to be discovered and application development. The main thing is that it is not all worked out for you, there are still challenges and problems and worlds to conquer and you don't need corporate sponsorship or permission or a user's agreement to use any of it, or to modify any of it. The best knowledge of the scientific community is shared knowledge, the same is true in the Linux computer community. Linuxville residences all have access and share from the mouse mauler to the coder.
Monday, September 01, 2008
More Linux light
Linux has been for much of it's life a victim of it's own progress. How to develop an outcome that advances on all fronts and yet maintaining the backward compatibility. What brought this up, you ask? I was reading over the Dyne:bolic Linux web site and there is a blurb about turning your networked computers into a cluster. A cluster allows you to combine and share the computer power and resources of several networked machines, spread the work among them to get it done faster. Today we have so-called multi-core CPUs that are supposed to do the same in theory. But while operating systems might take advantage of this, the applications do not. You have the latest dual-core cpu's and you got single core applications. Anyway, further investigation reveals that Dyne:bolic Linux version 1.4.1 has openMosix. OpenMosix is a kernel extension that makes for turning separate PC's on the same network into a cluster. This means you could have more computer power and resources for said application and the application doesn't have to be specially designed for it to work. For doing web surfing this is meaningless, but for math intensive graphics......wow. I've done rendering in Rhino3D a MS win software. A final rendering might take 1/2 hour or more to process. A cluster might take 5 or 10 minutes for the same rendering.
A hot topic for a while was building a Blender3D render farm with off the shelf hardware. Today that hardware is mostly used equipment and even cheaper. So, if you ask me, that technology can come off the cutting edge and make a way to the masses. All you geeks and geek artist can explore and extend that technology in practical ways without the complexities of the Beowulf cluster. If I am wrong, tell me.
As of March 2008 the openMosix project closed. They claim the advent of dual-core PC's obsoleted further development. Hey, how many of you folks have hardware made obsolete by MS Vista and is not that old? My main box and my spare are both single core, not that old and I could use the extra computer power on some projects. Dyne:bolic is at version 2.5.2 now and uses a newer kernel. Because openMosix is done for now it is not in the latest Dyne. You know, sometimes the price of progress is to set aside amazingly powerful and/or useful stuff and move on to something else. I think all the user request for wireless support, the dual-core cpu especially in the laptop market and possibilly the home server idea has overshadowed the openMosix folks.
I don't know, nothing left but to download Dyne:bolic 1.4.1 (still available) and see for myself. No big thing folks, I know some of you refused to give up Win95 when Win98/XP came along. And just think of the hassle if it weren't for live-CD's. I guess they should come up with a multi-core version of openMosix and make openMosix an extension to run on any distro. I see that Phantom of the Opera movie, he is at the keyboard, all the PC's lights are blinking and the house power goes dim.........(ooh the power!!) Come on guys, your work's not finished yet.
Just an addition, The Dyne:bolic 2.5.2, the latest does say in the lines that you can cluster with it also. The 1.4.1 version works fine, I have to look into the 2.5.2 version. This is a cool feature if you can find a use for it. Us common folk don't crunch many numbers, our thing is interactive computing. Does clustering speed up games or 3D graphics?
A hot topic for a while was building a Blender3D render farm with off the shelf hardware. Today that hardware is mostly used equipment and even cheaper. So, if you ask me, that technology can come off the cutting edge and make a way to the masses. All you geeks and geek artist can explore and extend that technology in practical ways without the complexities of the Beowulf cluster. If I am wrong, tell me.
As of March 2008 the openMosix project closed. They claim the advent of dual-core PC's obsoleted further development. Hey, how many of you folks have hardware made obsolete by MS Vista and is not that old? My main box and my spare are both single core, not that old and I could use the extra computer power on some projects. Dyne:bolic is at version 2.5.2 now and uses a newer kernel. Because openMosix is done for now it is not in the latest Dyne. You know, sometimes the price of progress is to set aside amazingly powerful and/or useful stuff and move on to something else. I think all the user request for wireless support, the dual-core cpu especially in the laptop market and possibilly the home server idea has overshadowed the openMosix folks.
I don't know, nothing left but to download Dyne:bolic 1.4.1 (still available) and see for myself. No big thing folks, I know some of you refused to give up Win95 when Win98/XP came along. And just think of the hassle if it weren't for live-CD's. I guess they should come up with a multi-core version of openMosix and make openMosix an extension to run on any distro. I see that Phantom of the Opera movie, he is at the keyboard, all the PC's lights are blinking and the house power goes dim.........(ooh the power!!) Come on guys, your work's not finished yet.
Just an addition, The Dyne:bolic 2.5.2, the latest does say in the lines that you can cluster with it also. The 1.4.1 version works fine, I have to look into the 2.5.2 version. This is a cool feature if you can find a use for it. Us common folk don't crunch many numbers, our thing is interactive computing. Does clustering speed up games or 3D graphics?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)