Anyway.

I finally figured out why I was having such fits with my Ubuntu install. Turns out that I had a bad hard drive. Yup, that’s all. Now that I have Ubuntu installed on a new drive (80g) it’s running like the proverbial top. Not a belch or anything in sight.

Of course, my problems all boiled down to one simple thing, yet it was that same “simple thing” that I kept missing when I did my checks and such. To be honest, I don’t know which test showed that it was the hard drive, but when I used the new drive for the install, it worked great and is still working great. Yes, I’ll even admit that I don’t have a full grasp of Linux, but I am getting there. After all, I whipped DOS and windows into shape, so I figure that I can get this OS whipped into shape, too. It’s definitely getting there, with much thanks to the great people on the Ubuntu forums.

There are still some things that I have to use windows for, but they are shrinking even as I type this. The main thing is the cartridge install/replace bit for my printer. It requires a program that I cannot get to work in Ubuntu, yet. I will get there, though, don’t worry. Heh.

Well, I have some other stuff to take care of, so I will be back as soon as I can.

Anyway…

Ubuntu.  Lovely thing that it is.  Works wonders.  Especially as when you find out that the rash of problems you were having boiled down to a bad hard drive.  Feck.   (A shiny quarter to the first person who tells me where that word came from.  Heh)

Well, I have finally gotten Ubuntu where I, mostly, want it.  Firefox is running fast and happy.  Thunderbird is doing much the same.  It had a bit of a problem when I had two video cards installed at the same time, even though I was only using one of them.  The system would not reboot/shutdown unless the power button was used.  Removing the non-used video card took care of that nicely.

Now, it’s off to the “play” machines to see how fast and hard I can make Ubuntu scream.  Lots of testing Wine, VMWare, etc., etc.  I am using a couple of 800Mhz machines with Ubuntu installed to test out programs and such.  I’ll post what I come up with, so that’s a plus.

Till I can scrounge up some more time, later.

Anyway.

I am still working with Ubuntu and liking what I am getting. With the exception of problems with an update to the kernel, and some grub (boot manager) errors, I’m just chuggin’ along. I managed to get the video working like it should, so that’s a definite plus.

I have to admit that I sometimes despair at the forums. Lots of good information, but it’s still a “catch as catch can” proposition. I have read the “man pages” till I’m blue in the face. Good information, but not anything that points to the problems I am having. Posting on the forums and waiting for help is exactly that - a waiting game. If no one is interested, you get no response. Usually, though, you can get an answer pretty quick that can settle the problem(s) you are having. It still boils down to the “luck of the draw”. (Boy, aren’t I the cliche-spouting one, today? Heh)

I want to say that I have checked out the Linux distros and have found that there are 33 of those buggers out there. It may be ready for the desktop, but *WHICH ONE* is ready to take over from Windows? I have this chart that I got from some site that shows all the Linux distros and where they came from. The only one that started and ended with no “offshoots” is Puppy Linux. Everything else has branched out into other distros. So, I wonder which one will win the desktop battle?

That’s about all, I guess. Back to reading the Ubuntu forums, trying to find out if anyone else has had the same problem(s) I am having.

[tags]Ubuntu, Linux, grub, boot, puppy[/tags]

Still, I have found that, barring a couple of niggling problems, Ubuntu is the way I am headed. I refuse to spend the amount of money demanded by Microsoft for its software. $90.00 for XP Home I can agree with; the prices being asked for Vista are nothing less than highway robbery. Maybe some people think that those prices are reasonable and I have no problem with that - just so long as they remember that I have a different opinion. And my opinion is that Microsoft is asking for too much money for not enough return.

All right, I’ll quit while I’m still a little ahead.

Oh! Anyone who is reading this and is thinking of switching to Ubuntu, I cannot stress enough that visiting the Ubuntu Forums  http://ubuntuforums.org/) will be the best thing they can do. I’d still be floundering around if not for some really great people over there!

[tags]fonts, Ubuntu, XP, Vista, microsoft[/tags]

All in all, I’d say Ubuntu is doable, but it still needs a few tweaks to make it really workable as a desktop fighter. Mainly the problems that seem to crop up around Nvidia drivers and what version/setup should be loaded. I have found that a clean install onto a hard drive that is entirely dedicated to it does wonders for setup. As cheap as hard drives are nowadays, I really wonder why people insist on making partitions. If you are going to dual boot, dual boot for cripes sake. Heck, I’m running four hard drives and two DVD-RW drives, with room left over for at least four more drives! Even with my tweaking the tar outta Ubuntu, I have major doubts that I will be running out of hard drive space in the foreseeable future. But, then again…

I know that I should post more often, but “real life” tends to take up quite a bit of my time. I will try to do better, but until a lot of things settle down/finish, I may not have much opportunity for a while. I will try, though.

All for now.

[tags]ubuntu, feisty, nvidia[/tags]

Still a few problems, though. One is that I have my other three hard drives mounted on the desktop and can’t seem to get them to not show up there. I have followed the instructions given by a fellow Ubuntu user on the forums, but it just doesn’t work. Not that it’s a big horkin’ problem, but I would prefer that they not be on the desktop. Having them show up in Nautilis is fine, though.

And then there is the “fun” situation with Nvidia video cards. One of which I happen to be using right now. And, of course, it’s a “legacy” card so I have to be very careful as to what driver set I download. Tried using Envy to load the drivers, but that managed to hose my entire hard drive, so I am extremely leery of using that again. I have another (meaning “new”) video card on the way, and it’s an Nvidia, too, so I hope the problems I am having with video go away. “Problems” meaning that “glxgears” won’t even work, now, so I don’t know if all is good or not. I guess I could test with some programs, but if Google Earth won’t work, things are just not right in video-card-land.

However, since I am using my computer mainly for web-surfing, word processing/publishing and e-mail, I can say that those three/four functions are working very well. I will probably update to the new version (7.04, “Fiesty Fawn”) soon, too.

Oh, I also bought a new monitor about 2 weeks ago. It’s a 19 inch LCD flatscreen by Hanns-G. Got it at Office Depot and it has been a pure joy. Acres upon acres of space. Not a single dead pixel to be found. I have no regrets about purchasing it!

Well, that’s it for today. Going to go back to my writing, now.

[tags]ubuntu, install, nvidia[/tags]

I have spent over a month to get this operating system to run as it should (well, like the folks in the support forums say it should, anyway). And, of course, when I re-install it (now on about the 12th re-install) I forget that I really should download and use the updated .iso file. Nope, I just sit here, goofy grin on my face, as I watch over 200 meg of updates get downloaded to “update” the operating system. Just thank goodness that I have a fairly fast internet connection.

So, I have been trying to get an operating system hyped as one of the best to actually run on my computer. With a 3.2Ghz processor, 1gig of RAM, an entire 40gig hard drive allocated to Ubuntu and another 80gig drive allocated to Windows XP Home, I can’t tell why it shouldn’t just get up and run like the hype tells me it should.

I have even had to use my XP disc to run “fixmbr” because the reformat of the drive allocated to Ubuntu doesn’t touch the Master Boot Record (MBR) part of the hard drive. It was really interesting when I reformatted the drive and suddenly I have three Windows XP Home entries on the GRUB boot manager. That’s when I found that “fixmbr” is a friend. Weird as how I have to use a Windows program to clean out a Linux hard drive that was reformatted as a FAT32 drive.

But, I am not giving up. I know, in my heart, that this will work. It is frustrating. It is nerve-wracking. It is, at times, heart pounding. (Tell me that losing e-mail you just downloaded isn’t heart pounding!) I am, however, not going to let it get me down. I have enough time and effort invested to make this my “project de jour” for the next however many months it will take to tame this beast! And, tame it I will, mark my words! If I can tame DOS and Windows, I can surely tame Ubuntu!

Or, maybe someone will tell me to switch to Xandros or Freespire. I won’t harbor ill will towards them, I will merely smile and ask which version I should allocate my other empty 80gig hard drive to. Talk about a glutton for punishment, eh? Heh.

[tags]Ubuntu, re-install, fixmbr, grub[/tags]

Okay, I know that I have said I am working with Ubuntu, seeing if I want to completely swap over and just not even bother with Windows anymore. As it stands right now, however, I have noticed something - there seems to be a bit too much traffic in the Ubuntu forums, with lots of people asking for help. And, has been my experience, maybe a bit too many of the responders still reply with something like “use terminal” or “cron job” or “script”. Dunno if that is really all that good for my peace of mind.  After all, how many times are you told to use the DOS prompt in Windows to accomplish something?
Maybe I am just expecting too much. But, when I want a operating system to do what I want it to, I would like it to do things as easily as possible. Trying to install something that is a “tar” file is not as easy as installing a “deb” file. Heck, I almost start sweating when I see a file that I want and it’s in the “tar” format. Not that I can’t install it, just that it’s not as easy as it should be. Now, uninstalling - that’s a completely different animal. If you can’t find it in the “add/remove” area, you have to spend much too much time trying to figure out how to remove it. Again, not as easy as it should be.

These are just some observations I have made, take them as you will. I will keep plugging away at Ubuntu, and do the installs/uninstalls whenever I feel the urge or it becomes necessary. I am getting used to Ubuntu, and I usually boot into it, so it’s merely a matter of slowly but surely.

Just my $0.0002 worth of meanderings.

Okay, I am now in the process of, maybe, switching to Ubuntu Linux from Windows. I have read way too many “bad” reviews of Vista. One minute it’s the cat’s meow, the next it won’t run right unless you have a minimum of 4 Gigs of RAM. Sheesh. Thus the (more than likely) changeover.

Anyway. I have installed Ubuntu onto its very own hard drive. I have set it up to dual boot with my XP Home, since I still have a few things (mainly games) that I can’t seem to get to work on Ubuntu. Still, it’s a challenge to get things to work on Ubuntu and I am, believe it or not, mainly having fun with those challenges that it is throwing at me. Heh. I’ll whip that sucker yet!

I’m one of the folks who has a Nvidia video card, so it’s fun tweaking that to work in Ubuntu the way I want it to. For the most part, it’s up and running the way I want it to, but I just can’t get it as “sharp” as I want it to get. But, I’ve only been running it for about two weeks, so I have plenty of time to tweak it to where I want it to be. That’s my fun - getting a program to do what I want it to do.

The speed of boot seems to be on a par with XP Home. I really like how you have to enter your login name and password to get onto the system and I love how nothing can be installed without entering your password. Much coolness! Helps with the possible virus infestations, too, in my opinion. I haven’t set up a anti-virus program yet; that is mainly due to the overwhelming amount of message traffic where people say it is not as “mandatory” as it is in Windows. Heck, I ran Ubuntu for the first week before I even put a firewall on it - no problems. I like the faith shown in it by those who rave about it, but still, I would rather be more on the safe side than the sorry side, just in case. I figure I’ll go with the firewall alone and see what happens in the next month or so.

Still, no crashes, no lockups, just sits there, chugging along, while I do my stuff. Oh. Except for something in Firefox that keeps popping up a notice box about a script screwing up. I think I know what is causing that, though. If it’s not what I think it is, I’ll just go on from there and tweak that sucker some more.

Okay, enough rambling. I just re-read this and am appalled at my wanderings. Well… It is “Michael’s Meanderings” after all. Hehehehe

Nighty-night

Hmmmm… Might be worthwhile.

Ummmmmm…

Then again, maybe not:

CRAIGSNUMBER TERMS OF SERVICE
6.0 Your Responsibility. You acknowledge and agree that you are fully responsible for all use on your account, and you accept full liability and responsibility for the actions of anyone who uses the Service via your account with or without your permission. Some of your calls may be transmitted over the public Internet, and you acknowledge that you are aware that the Internet is not a secure network, and that third parties may be able to intercept, monitor, or corrupt information you transmit over the Internet.

(Bold text is mine.)

Seems that it will gladly provide the service, but if some enterprising cracker happens to crack into your account and use your number for nefarious purposes, just take a wild guess as to who will pay the ultimate price? Not the cracker, it would seem.

Caveat emptor, indeed.

Powered by performancing firefox.

[tags]craigsnumber, telephone, phone, terms of service, TOS[/tags]

Well, it has been a while since I last posted here.  Things are kind of hectic, since it seems that my mother-in-law may have to be put into a nursing home.  Not too sure, right at this time, but it seems a likelihood.

Computer wise?  Not much, other than having a motherboard that won’t recognize a SATA (Serial ATA/EIDE/IDE) drive.  Well….  To be honest, it is a PATA (Parallel ATA/EIDE/IDE) drive with one of those adapters to make the computer think it is a SATA drive.  Updated the BIOS, have gone back and forth with Intel, etc., etc.  I know the drive is good, because I have already used XP to format the silly thing.  So, I’m waiting for Intel to see what they have to say about it.

Oh.  One other thing.  Bought a new keyboard and I like all the extras, but I need to replace it, since some keys seem to be somewhat stuck while others like to keep on putting characters down.

Oh, well.  I’ll have to get one here more often and update more, since I now have more free time.  Got lots and lots of stuff I can post about programs I have tried out.  Heh.

I attempted to post this on the main (comment area) Lockergnome site, but for some reason it would not post. So, here it is.

I downloaded and installed the “Video DVD Maker Free” that was touted on the last “Freeware Friday” on 17 November.

The install went well, no problem with that.

Anyway, right after I installed the program, I popped in a blank DVD-R and started it up. It began by doing something it called a “timeline” - that took over 4 hours to accomplish for a 89 minute AVI file. After that, it was only a few minutes to actually record the DVD. However, I discovered that the program defaults to PAL recording rather than the NTSC recording. I only found this out when my DVD player (on the TV) told me that the first DVD I made was not NTSC, thus not playable.

When I popped the second DVD into my player (hooked to my TV) it started with a “DIVX” blurb in the lower right hand corner that went away after about two minutes. But, the sound was sped up and the sync between the lips and the soundtrack was off - waaaay off.

I would say that it was a one time thing, but I made sure. I did a clean boot and loaded only what I absolutely needed. Same deal. Ruined 4 DVD-R discs. Kind of expensive for a free program, in my opinion.

Overall? Not worth it.

Just my take.

Michael

Okey-dokey, time to call the place I bought it from. I make the call and the tech/salesman/return clerk tells me something that I had forgotten long ago. I had forgotten it because it was not something that you really have problems with, considering how those things are made, nowadays. Yep, remove the RAM stick. I removed. I powered up. It beeped. Don’t ask me how, but somehow I had managed to put the RAM stick in the wrong way. Actually, I had taken it as a “gimme” that RAM sticks were made now so that you couldn’t put them in the wrong way. Once again, the computer industry put it’s thumbs in its ears, wriggled its fingers, stuck out its tongue and went “Pllblblblblblttttttt” at me.

Par for the course, eh?

Heh.

[tags]Michael, McMaster, computer, tech, RAM, ram, industry[/tags]

Okay, here I am. First post. Great fun. Heh.

Anyway, some basic information about me:

I am retired. Ex-U.S. Air Force. Been playing around with computers for over 15 years. Not a programmer, but pretty good at making programs do what I want them to do. Married with 4 kids, only one still at home. I like to fish and surf the Internet. I really love to read and write Science Fiction, though.

My first computer was a 386 with 16Megs of RAM. Of course, within 5 days of getting it, I decided to “clean it up”. Yup, one of the files I erased was “command.com”. Don’t know why I did it, but it took a friend (PC guru) over 3 hours to figure out what I had done. I have to admit that I have gotten a little better over the years.

Ooooppppsss…

Actually, my first computer was a Timex/Sinclair 1000. Got it at a “Heathkit” store. It was a place where you could buy things and put them together yourself - like buying a color tv but having to put the silly thing together yourself. Happily, I bought the computer without having to put it together myself. Heh. Sadly, though, even to this day, I can’t write a program. I call myself “programming illiterate” since I can’t even write a simple BASIC program. I know, go ahead and giggle, doesn’t bother me a bit - like I said, I can still get programs to do what I want them to do. ;>