Politically correct or not!

I know that there have been other bloggers who have drawn fire for promoting Linux, but we cannot let that deter us from trying to get the word out about our favorite operating system. Linux and its use by more people will only grow as people get more dissatisfied with other operating systems.

The world at large thinks that, for ninety percent or more of the computers sold, Windows is the computer. For most people that may be, but that can change and it will if we show them another way and teach them how to use it. Mainly, educating them not to attempt to install windows programs on Linux computers. Then they won't be disappointed when their programs don't work!

I know this sounds like an "elitist" attitude but Linux seems to be still a "hobbyist" OS at the moment. I know that there are many others out there that are writing about Linux and singing it's praises, but the only way to get people to use it is to teach them about it and its advantages. I know that being teachers or educators is not what we signed up for when we started using Linux, but if you want more people to used it you have to let them know what it is and that it is available.

If you look at it like spreading the word about your favorite OS, that is the spirit. More people need this, especially those in developing nations. If there was a time that people truly needed a virus-free operating system and one that doesn't cost anything it is now. Our world is changing rapidly in more ways than we know and there are many ways that the Linux or Open Source groups in the world could help. If we just sit back and wait, nothing will change other than one distribution or another will fall by the wayside and nobody will even notice.

Dream Linux, one of the best

I have been trying this one out a while and it is a very good pre-release version at this point. It is still in the RC4 stage so the final product will likely come out soon, but if it is any better it could possibly work its way into the top position at DistroWatch.com.

It uses Xfce as the desktop so it is light on the memory footprint and very responsive. It is a very customized Xfce but it is easy on the eyes, not flashy just functional. It seems to concentrate on laptop use since it tries to load wireless even while using the LiveCD like Ubuntu. It is a Debian based distribution so it is very easy to upgrade and add programs to, so the user-friendly is built in. The reality of this distribution is that it is very multimedia friendly. The easy installer allows you to install all the codecs for viewing movies and listening to mp3's without much more than a push of a button. In time I think DreamLinux could be very popular indeed. I know I have posted about it twice now but it is that good. Give it a try and you will see what I mean.

I don't have any screenshots at this time but if you go to http://www.dreamlinux.com.br/ you will see exactly how it looks and how close it is to being ready. My desktop is using an nvidia ethernet controller that DreamLinux doesn't like and doesn't see so I can't say how it performs on a dual-core AMD processor system but I imagine it will really be fast.

Give it a try, I don't think you will be disappointed. Especially if you like Xfce as a desktop manager.

See ya next time! Happy Holidays!!

Is anyone listening?

Software, especially operating systems should be free of viruses and spy ware. That is the freedom that Linux of any brand gives you. I have been using it for years and it works just as it is supposed to. There are still some rare hardware that is not recognized especially win-modems, but for the most part Linux works better than most for my money.

I know Linux is free (as in cost), but that doesn't make it bad. In most of the computers that I have tried it on, it detects and installs hardware better than Windows does. My main reason for using it and encouraging others to do so is that viruses, spy ware, key loggers, etc. don't work on Linux because they are written for Windows computers.

I am repeating things that have been said many, many times before, but people need to hear it. Open source operating systems and office software IMHO are the best way to go. This message has to get to those who need it. Please, help me spread the word beyond the developer and IT community.

I have tried a new distro

It is called Dream Linux. It is still in the RC1 stage but it is a very useful distribution. Everything is there that you expect and a few things that you don't. The default display manager is Xfce so it is very easy on resources. It has been customized so that it has a bottom dock like a Mac. Each icon zooms when you pass over them and it seems to work really well.

My biggest problem with it is that it didn't recognize my Nvidia controlled Ethernet port on my desktop and it wasn't able to configure the video on an old Dell that I have (an 1100 Inspiron). I am going to give it a shot on my Toshiba Satellite, but so far no Linux distribution has had any trouble with it. I will come back and edit this post when I have had a chance to test it on the Toshiba but it will likely be a glowing report then and maybe I can give you more details.

Stay tuned!

I am posting this from my Toshiba with Dream Linux running from the LiveCD. It does work very well, it detected my wireless card and it does everything any Linux user could need or want. It looks a lot like OS X in some respects but it is Linux. I am looking forward to the final release to see what else they add to it or possibly fix, if there is anything wrong with it. So far, I haven't found much.

If anyone who likes to try new versions of Linux would like to give it a shot, please do. It is a Debian based distribution so it is better than most out there except Ubuntu. Sorry, but I am partial to it. :)

Let me know what you think of it when you have tried it too.

The Open Source Movement

That is what the move toward open source has been called, a movement. A movement is part of a concerto or part of a dance routine, not a move toward a more stable operating system! Granted, "geeks" have been at the fore of the open source initiative as long as it has been happening but open source is so much more than just a "movement".

Software which has been and is still being developed by the community rather than a corporation is open source. When the bugs are found in it, the community fixes them. It is an elegant way of doing things and very efficient, most of the time. I and many others have been trying to get a bug or something fixed in Ubuntu's Intrepid Ibex (8.10) for a few weeks now, with not much success from what I have read on the forums. It seems that the older your hardware is, Ibex can't seem to find the correct solution for the video, whether it is a laptop or some other screen. Before this release, Hardy Heron would not give me a decent resolution for my KDS monitor, but Ibex did. I thought that it wouldn't have any trouble with a laptop which was only four years old, but since it is a Dell 1100 Inspiron it can't even install and use the screen if I use the alternate install CD.

I am waiting for the great community of developers out there to fix this but even if they do it won't make it into the stream until the next release in April of '09. So, I will just have to wait. I am not complaining about this, actually. It is not just Ubuntu, I have tried other distributions and none except Mepis will even install correctly and give me a boot screen to log in to. With the alternate disk, Ubuntu got me to the login but the desktop didn't show up after that. Any ideas?

Many paths, nothing definitive....

In the past forty years there have been numerous operating systems for computers of all sizes. The first commercially successful operating system was UNIX and it only ran on "big iron" mainframes in the '60's. At the time there were no copyrights on software so it was shared by many and modified as well since the code was not hidden. Then in the late '70's a company called Microsoft came along and started raging about copyright infringement and that people were stealing programs.

True, they may have been sharing amongst friends, but it wasn't likely that it was enough to cause any company to lose much money at the time. Of course, there was Apple Computer with their own personal computer and operating system which many people know and fell in love with. Then in the 1980's, Windows came along.

It was a copy of other software which had been developed by Xerox and Apple, an operating system which allowed you to see the programs graphically on the screen. Up until then everything had been done by command line, something unheard of today by most computer users.

Some of you may be wondering, "Where is this going? It is just a blog entry about the history of computers.". THAT IS IT EXACTLY!!! There are many people out there using these contraptions and they have no idea when or where they came from or why. I also know that many don't care one way or another, but I do! Our history, and yes computers have been around long enough to be counted as artifacts of history, has shown that if people never learn about something it will just be tossed out like the trash eventually.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, the 80's, the decade of greed. Everyone seemed to be out to make as much money no matter who they stepped on or over to do it and some are still doing that. Before I get too preachy, the development of operating systems during the 80's did improve but not much. Not until the MacIntosh came along did people talk about computers with any feeling. Between 1981, when the IBM PC (for Personal Computer) came out and 1991 when Linus Torvalds created Linux there was much ado about little or nothing, with the exception of Apple Computers. They were busy showing people how easy it was to use a graphical interface in business, the arts, and education.

IBM's personal computers during that time were used by businesses and some schools and by some people who wanted to try this new "thing" out. The PC's popularity grew because of the existence of "clones". Many different companies were allowed to produce computers which were "clones" of the IBM and were listed as IBM-compatible. Radio Shack (not now), Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Packard-Bell, Dell, Gateway, etc. all still make these "clones" of the IBM personal computer. The one I am using right now, I built myself but it is a home-built clone.

The hardware was and is getting better and faster all the time. The operating systems are not keeping up with it though. Most OS's have too much "bloat" to be as responsive as the system they run on. Linux, no matter what distribution you use, is usually faster and more streamlined than others. I have heard and read many posts on forums about it having too much code in the kernel, but compared to some, it is rather svelte. If my memory is correct, I think I remember something about Microsoft XP and Vista both having something around forty seven to fifty million lines of code in their core kernel. The number of lines in the Linux kernel has been reported as between nine and ten million. That is still a large number but only one fourth or one fifth as much as Microsoft's offerings.

It is no wonder that Linux can run on virtually any machine from cell phones to mainframes, especially since the code can be customized for the target by the vendor as long as the revision is released back to the community. I think Microsoft should do this and just make their money on subscriptions so people can update their systems as long as they need or want to. What do you think? Be creative.

New Ubuntu, Intrepid Ibex

I have been using this distribution for a few weeks now and it really works well. I really enjoy it since it works on every computer that I have. It detected all of my hardware whether it was my home system with a 64-bit processor and an Nvidia graphics card or my laptop with a Celeron M and an Intel graphics chip. It even detects and uses my realtek wireless card and my Belkin wireless card.

For the past few weeks I have been trying to get my HP all-in-one printer (F4250) to work with SuSE, to no avail. When I installed Ubuntu 8.10, it detected my printer and installed it without any intervention on my part. That is what a real operating system should do! I hope you will try it, I think Ubuntu is getting closer to becoming a true desktop version of Linux. I know there are many reviews of this version of Ubuntu on the web right now, but I don't think many of them were done by a user who has used Linux for as long as I have. I have been using Linux for over ten years.

If you have been considering trying Linux at all, you should give this one a try. It is much better than most other distributions. I have noticed that some people have had trouble with some configurations on the forums, referring to esoteric sound cards or video adapters but on the whole it is a very polished and usable. I have to post now, my battery is almost dead. Talk to you later.

Hi everyone!

I am starting this blog as a review site for Linux, no matter what flavor distro it is. I would appreciate any suggestions for inclusion in these reviews, so feel free to leave comments or e-mail me.