I'm Back to a Single Boot

I've tried Kubuntu, Debian, Knoppix, DSL, Fedora, Ubuntu and Xubuntu (still on one laptop with XP as the other option).

They all have their good points - but for overall ease of use, availability of support, customization capability and functionality, I'm sticking with Ubuntu. It works great for a home computer. I'm not sure how practical it would be for a work computer if you need a VPN, and compatibility with Microsoft - Exchange, Office and servers. I might try that sometime to see.

I'm back to a single-boot machine for my primary computer, and have access to Windows for my iPhone and Pod on a backup hard drive or my old laptop.

Now that I've spent hours and hours getting my OS just the way I like it I'm going to see if I can do something with my computer (other than trying one of dozens of different desktop themes, icons or window borders - playing with wobbly windows, painting fire, rotating desktop cubes, dockys and all the other fun stuff you can do with Linux).

I'm not a purist when it comes to this kind of thing; I'll use whatever works best for me and whatever I like - right now that's Ubuntu. It would be fun to have a Mac to play with and when Windows 7 comes out I imagine I'll get a computer with that operating system on it.

A Rose

A Rose
Originally uploaded by Jack Crossen

Computers - Playing to Make Working Easier

Linux allows you to customize your desktop using GNOME, KDE ,Xfce or a variety of other desktop environments.

One of the challenges with so much choice is that customizing your computer can become an end in itself.

For example Knoppix Linux has really cool startup and shutdown sounds that you (if you're a nerd like me) might want to use for your computer.

Does that make your computer any more useful?

No, but it might make it more fun to use - and you can learn more about how computers work by doing something simple like that.

To get those startup and shutdown .wav files I downloaded the Knoppix .iso (image) file, burned the .iso file to a CD, found the .ogg audio files, installed Audacity to convert them to .wav, used FileZilla to FTP them to my web server and then added the links to this blog post using a simple right-click extension for Firefox built by Phil Ringnalda.

Playing around with computers is the best way to learn their, and your own, capability - as you learn more you may find that when you have something you want to do (besides playing) it's a lot easier.

How To Save The World 33 Million Hours a Day

I was reading that Fedora 11 will have a 20 second boot time to login screen.

That made me curious how quickly the operating systems I'm using bootup, get on the network and shutdown.

I used a stopwatch to time Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty, Debian Lenny and Windows XP Professional.

Time from power on to login screen:

Ubuntu 24.9 seconds
Debian 37.7 seconds
Windows 75.5 seconds

Time from login screen to wireless network connection:

Ubuntu 22 seconds
Debian 14 seconds
Windows 82.7 seconds

Time from power off to shutdown:

Ubuntu 12.9 seconds
Debian 7.7 seconds
Windows 74 seconds

Total time to boot up, get on network and then shutdown are:

Windows 232.2 seconds (3.82 minutes)
Ubuntu 59.8 seconds (.99 minute)
Debian 59.4 seconds (.99 minute)

If we assume there are 1 billion PC users in the world running Windows and they each turn on their computers, get on a network and shutdown once a day - that's about 3 billion minutes per day. That means people are spending 50 million hours a day waiting for a PC to do something. If those 1 billion PC users switched to a faster operating system they could eliminate 2 minutes of waiting...that's 33 million hours a day.

_______________________________

Postscript - July 2009

I'm using the 2.6.30 Linux Kernel and Ext4 file system both of which shave off a few seconds from the time it takes to get boot and get on the web. Using my stopwatch it took this laptop 43.5 seconds from power-on to wireless web access. It's actually a little faster than that since I had to manually choose which kernel to boot and enter my user name and password.

Playing Around With Debian Lenny

I'm trying out the Lenny release of Debian today. It works - not exactly out of the box; wireless, sound, and video take some tweaking.

It runs fast and I can see why it would be appealing to someone who likes to work on, or play with computers to get them to work with a Linux distribution. It's like playing a game or doing a crossword puzzle - something to keep your mind active.

I've tried Knoppix, DSL, Ubuntu and Debian so far. They all have their good points. I think it's all a matter of what you like and what you intend to do with a computer. For me Ubuntu is a nice compromise between usability and customization. I was curious to see what Debian was like since Ubuntu, Knoppix, DSL and a variety of other Linux distributions are based on Debian.

I'd say Debian would probably not be a good choice for someone who doesn't have any computer hacking skills or at least a lot of patience. I'll probably be sticking with good old Ubuntu but Lenny will be around anytime I want to check out what's going on with the source of a lot of the goodness in Linux distributions.

I think I started this about 20 hours ago so I better be going to bed now...

Easy Laptop Upgrades

I installed a new Western Digital Scorpio Black 320GB hard drive in my laptop yesterday. This is a SATA 2.5 inch 7200 RPM hard drive that originally sold for $250 when it was introduced last year. It goes for around $70 now. This hard drive replaces the original Seagate 80GB 5200 RPM hard drive that came with this Dell E1405 laptop.

Installing a hard drive in this laptop is really easy. Remove two screws from the back, slide the old hard drive out, remove the hard drive caddy from the old hard drive by removing 4 screws (if your new hard drive didn't come with a caddy), install the new hard drive in the caddy, plug it into the laptop and tighten the 2 screws. You have to reinstall your operating system, programs and any files you want from your old hard drive of course.

I decided not to reinstall Windows and dual boot with Ubuntu which I had been doing. I'm using Ubuntu 9.04 and the ext4 file system.

I upgraded to 2GB of DDR2-667 RAM a few weeks ago. This is a little trickier since the laptop has two locations for the RAM chips. One under the laptop which is easy to access and one under the keyboard which is a little more difficult. Dell's manuals are online and if you follow the instructions it's no problem. I bought the RAM for $10 from a computer hobbyist who happened to have some spare memory. It replaces the original 1GB of DDR2-533 RAM.

For 80 bucks I quadrupled my hard drive space and doubled my RAM, my laptop runs faster and I can keep using it for awhile.

Alibaba.com and the Taobao Field Guide

Taobao is China's Ebay. It's part of the Alibaba Group which includes Alibaba.com "The world's largest online B2B marketplace."

Taobao and Alibaba are interesting to look at. In the case of Taobao.com all I can do is look since it's in Chinese. Non-Chinese language readers need to use Google Translator or something like the Taobao Field Guide to check out what's for sale.

You can find some sweet bo staffs for 50 renminbi or about 7 dollars U.S. (if you can figure out how to transfer money to China). You may want to check out the Bo Staffs how to select guide before buying your staff.

Otherwise it's fun to look at what people are buying and selling.

Insomnia - Not to Worry

It's almost 4 in the morning and I'm about ready to go to bed - again. I slept for a couple of hours early tonight. I've never been much for sleeping. Naps sure - but going to bed and staying in bed for extended periods just doesn't really work for me. There's always something more interesting to do.

Usually I go to sleep reading or with the TV or the radio on, because I want to get the last bit of being awake in before I drift off. Lately my awake time at night isn't as productive as it once was when I'd spend that time reading and writing, now I tend to spend time fiddling around and not really accomplishing anything...and then all of a sudden it's 4 in the morning. That goes in cycles though - sometimes I'm studying something or writing or working.

There's something really appealing to me about the early morning hours, whether I'm in the outdoors, in a city or just sitting by myself - maybe the Edward Hopper painting Nighthawks touches on that early morning vibe. Some people think that painting is gloomy - I think it looks interesting; I'd like to be sitting there drinking a cup of coffee - with my laptop and a good wifi signal of course.

Use Your iPhone to Accept Credit Card Payments

Innerfence has an app that allows you to use your iPhone to process credit or debit card payments. At first glance I thought it sounded like an application for drug dealers and hookers but I've read it's intended for people selling things at farmers markets, craft/art fairs and other street vendors. The app is 50 bucks and there are setup, monthly and transaction fees so you'd need some profit margin and volume to make it worthwhile.

Known Unknowns and Unknown Unknowns

I remember watching the news briefing where Donald Rumsfeld made this statement and thinking, what the heck did he just say?

The Unknown

"As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know."

—Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing

From Slate Magazine, "The Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld" - by Hart Seely

I Found a Sweet Purse Today

Postscript one month later - I left the purse and a few other items at a bus stop today in hopes that someone else could use them. I probably should have put a few bucks inside it...maybe next time.

Where Ideas Come From

I've been playing with the Labyrinth mind-mapping tool this morning.

If We Are a Christian Nation

Why is it that we don't act more like Jesus?

Some people say the U.S. was founded on Christian principles, and is a Christian nation - but how is it that we twisted what Jesus taught into justifying the displacement of Native Americans, slavery, war, torture, solitary confinement, executions, exploitation, usury, discrimination, idol worship etc. etc. etc..

We are not a Christian nation - we are a nation of pragmatists. We do what works, which isn't all that bad - but don't be a hypocrite about it.

There are no justified wars, there was no manifest destiny, white European's have no special insight into God's ways. We used religion to accomplish things - some good and some bad. What we have yet to do as a nation is take what Jesus told us and made it a way of life.

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you."

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
Luke 6:27-38

U2 Grace

I've been listening to the U2 song "Grace" quite a bit lately and was looking for it on YouTube when I ran across this video of Mother Teresa with the song as background.

One of the most fascinating and heartening things about Mother Teresa to me is that she accomplished so much good in her life, outwardly giving the appearance of a person with a deep and abiding belief in God, while internally she struggled with her faith and questioned whether God exists at all.

I think for Mother Teresa, like other people who work in extremely difficult circumstances helping alleviate other human beings suffering - that having faith, and maybe especially faith that is unsure, questioned, struggled with - allows those special people to accomplish things that people who only believe in the scientific view of the world could never survive.

Op-Ed Columnist - How to Raise Our I.Q. - NYTimes.com

There is a pretty interesting and hopeful article in the New York Times stating evidence shows that the belief that I.Q. is overwhelmingly inherited is wrong. Maybe not all that surprising, but I.Q. is not determined mostly by nature after all - nurture plays a big role as well. High School students who understand they can improve their I.Q.'s tend to do better in school, and early childhood education can really help give children more brain power. Our I.Q.'s have increased over time and the article makes this surprising statement -

"Half the population of 1917 would be considered mentally retarded by today’s measurements, Professor Nisbett says."

Ubuntu 9.04 to Be Released on April 23rd, 2009

You can download the release candidate of Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) now or wait until next Thursday for the released version.

Ubuntu 9.04 supports; the ext4 file system which allows up to 64,000 subdirectories, one Exabyte volume, and files up to 16 Terabytes. Ext4 also adds two bits to the time stamp field thus delaying the Year 2038 problem for 500 years, allows faster boot times and has improvements over ext3 file systems in preventing disk fragmentation.

I've been using Ubuntu for several years and am pleased with it. It's not perfect but no operating system is. It does almost everything I want with the exception of running iTunes and occasionally not being able to open some videos on a limited number of websites. Open Office works fine for the word processing, spread sheet or presentation type work I want to do. Gimp is a very powerful photo editing tool, Picasa is good for organizing and minor photo retouching and there's a ton of other free applications available. Support is good because the people who post questions and answers on the Ubuntu bulletin boards tend to be people who know something about writing or modifying code...or at least aren't afraid of playing with a computer and learning something new.

One of the interesting things about Ubuntu compared to some other operating systems are the system requirements needed to run this version of Linux. For example, there are other flavors of Linux that require even less memory, but Ubuntu will run reasonably well on a computer with 256 Mb of RAM. This may not be fair but I think there is an inverse relationship between the amount of memory taken up by an application or operating system and the elegance of the programming, and therefore to some extent it's usefulness and reliability.

Mainly I just like Ubuntu because it's free, fun to play with, and it works fine for what I need an operating system to do.

I'm using Ubuntu 9.04 pre-release version and so far it's working fine. I think it boots up and shuts down quicker than the last version Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) even though I didn't change to the ext4 file system. Canonical provides a new release for Ubuntu every six months, one in April and one in October. Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) will be released October 29, 2009.

Joe Raiola - The Joy of Censorship

I'm looking forward to hearing Joe Raiola, senior editor of Mad Magazine, talk at the Everett Public Library tonight. His ideas on our first amendment rights to free speech sound thought provoking.

For kids who grew up in the 1960's Mad Magazine was "the" source for anti-establishment humor, goofy humor and satirical digs at everything from politics to Hollywood to Madison Avenue and advertiser driven consumerism. It was funny and edgy for it's time. I was lucky to have teachers and parents who believed it was better to be reading something (even Mad or comic books) than nothing at all.

I like his advice quoted in this article -

"Question authority to the highest possible level whether it be political, religious, or that of any expert," said Raiola. "Continue to think for yourself; don't let anyone silence you - consciousness is power."

Jack's Life Lessons

This isn't my list of lessons but I like the simplicity of the ideas. I might post them on our fridge if I can find a spot.

We Shall Remain - PBS Series

"The Master of Life
has appointed this place for us
to light our fires,
and here we shall remain."
Tecumseh
Shawnee

We Shall Remain is a five part series on the Native American experience, airing Monday nights. The episodes start with “After the Mayflower” tonight, with “Tecumseh’s Vision”, “Trail of Tears,” “Geronimo” and “Wounded Knee,” on subsequent Monday nights. Additional information on the series is here

NYC Households Without a Vehicle

It's interesting to consider that 80% of the households in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan do not have a vehicle. This percentage of households without a vehicle is representative of all of Manhattan where it ranges from 70% to slightly over 80% according to these demographics in the New York Times. 59% of the people take public transportation to work. 29% report they get to work by biking, walking or "other". According to this data 0% of households have two or more vehicles.