Ubuntu 9.10 what is all the griping about?

We mostly use debian linux at the monkey house, but some ubuntu for an Pentium 2 (very old) and a remix based on ubuntu (this will become debian though) on a rather nice netbook.

Since the netbook is moving from ubuntu that only left the pentiom 2 pc to upgrade.

Being that this machine is very old it did take 12 twelve hours (on a slow net connection doing too much other stuff) but you could not run windows 7 on it (windows nt, or windows 98 was what the maker supplied it with ten years plus ago.)  Before i resort to some low power distro like damm small linux it still makes a good x host and is ok for spreadsheets and basic tasks.

I’d go use latest debian on it except the sound card isnt supported and to get that back into the kernel requires some plain damm strange magic linux backport stuff that never works when i do it (early etch worked fine)

So the machine does struggle a bit with 9.04, and things do take a bit of time on this old machine but it still has a use in it still with a rather good flat screen display.

Testing of 9.10 indicated most things working except than the x test card test, I had to re-enable the switches on cups to get remote printers to be seen and printed too. That took a minute to fi

The only mickey mouse feature in 9.10 is no gdm screen (on first look)  anyhow quite sure i can live with that for a while until i fix that.

So when people say it karmic koala sucks it does not – try running windows 7 on a Pentium 2, it was pretty awful with windows xp and how long ago did xp come out ?

One happy koala user here.

I mean whats the fuss about ? Im happy with it. Humans sigh

Regcure from Paretologic the latest thing making microsoft usuable

I was called out of the monkey house to fix our professors computer who’s exploits have been mentioned in this blog.  We have computers running linux and so the world of windows vista always brings weirdness to our day should it invade it compared with our serene peace we have with our computers.

Vista and windows 7 needs a hefty computer to run it, and not that long ago professor  bought a new dell pc (ready for vista) and got mind fucked by all and sundry converting an old pc from xp to vista it’s detailed here (my blog).

Quite how he gets a machine that could run about 500 nasa spacecraft to the moon at once and make crawl is something i find amusing, this has been achieved in various ways including with three firewalls just so your ’safe’. This computer also connects via a router, so a firewall is not really necessary anyhow.

Its been a while since i have been to professors office, and the thing that was out-of-place was something called regcure which i had never even bothered to even know existed until yesterday (linux does not have a registry).

Naturally something else was not working and even HP could not get there usb thing to perform which he paid them to do and probably the reason for the visit.

So this state of the art pc was running v e  r  y  s l o w l y, no programs were loaded on startup, networking and getting a wired dhcp lease took three minutes, loading any program took forever while i assume regcure did some paranoid checking

Heres the thing while im sure regcure is probably ok but  in the hands of an idiot its downright dangerous – and professor had no clue how or who and why installed it for him.

So after fixing a few things and installing sp2 on vista, and the hp device, i decided to dump regcure.  five or ten reboots (we don’t do that in linux very often) later and networking was faster, and programs actually loaded more speedily.

So to all you microsoft windows experts (yes even you msm computer  magazine journalists*) who think windows is amazing please don’t recommend this crap since i have to clean it off.

Its not my job to worry that a reg entry without anything in it (eg blank) is my problem, i didnt compile the crap and so i have no idea if i could break x.exe by doing so. Take the hp device drivers if they are so bad for vista that they need constant re-installing then any Microsoft operating system is doomed to be fucked about by ‘experts like regcure’ that make windows o/s’s a joke where it works it’s a bloody miracle.

Humans.

* windows 8 needs pimping

Charlie muses on High School musical.

Charlie is the head zoo security guy (for those who forget him a reminder) and when we return to zoo from the pub we apes always pop in the security office for a chat, a cup of pg tips tea, and just maybe an after pub banana before we return to the monkey house.

camp Lucas Grabeel in one of his many hats.

A couple of days ago we started get Miley Cyrus nude spam’s, which the hosts involved were firewalled (we monkeys love iptables on linux) and know she is not a imap mail server but some male human erection magnet for preteens because of an unseen disney film..

So we told Charlie about these, and then he said to us High school musical (that’s the disney film imdb: tt0475293) was on tv tonight in an few minutes time which had the no clothes wearing Miss Cyrus (not an imap server) in. Charlie and his crack team of security staff then all made sure they would be in to see it on the communal tv set.  A banana was handed to myself so i decided to stay as well to see what the fuss is about..

The film is about an american high school where apparently admitting you like cooking, playing a musical instrument, or liking maths is something like being gay, The cast of stereotypes including the very camp Lucas Grabeel all come-out in a big song and dance number, while our misfit heros overcome great odds to sing together with their clothes on.  I was most disappointed with that.

British version of high school grange hill - not camp.

Theres a point to this as the american school was perfect, with not a spot of graffiti, or signs of Balitmore (this blog) anywhere to be seen and after the last camp scene (it involves biscuits) Charlie and his team said it’s not like a bog standard comprehensive school like Grange Hill (wiki) which it seems Charlie went to.

I asked why and got the response it was too clean, too nice and beyond reality as even we know human children are beastly to each other.

Alas we never saw a no clothes wearing Miley Cyrus.  It’s odd that a sugar and sweet tale of humans is so loved by people when it appears is nothing like the reality they know.

We however thanked Charlie for the post pub banana and got a better understanding of humanity in return.  More serous posts will return when i finish reading some books which means returning to to the monkey house .

Humans.

bluetooth sucks.

802.15 should be a joy, not just for windows users, or mac users but all users after all its a standard like ethernet, alas this standard has been gang raped by Microsoft.

Bluetooth for cavedwellers makes short range radio communication between say a phone and a headset/computer and mouse etc. Easy ! no wires in theory

Alas some fuck head at bluetooth.org decided that linux compatibly and bluetooth was bad, no doubt theres some pressure from the microsoft to do this so i am very late to this.

It took me about two days of googling for something that might work with linux in the form of a usb adaptor. Thats encouraging isnt it?  Lets face it they don’t want people like me using it.

Lets face facts, LInux supports bluetooth, but the people who certify it, dont like to advertise that it does work with Linux.

Seeing as i have become an expert on this crap by accident, i note that windows users also have problems with bluetooth being a number of software libraries and the like, plug and pray time anybody.

Clearly buetooth is not a standard deserving to computer support and it should go back to its ghetto of mobile phone users.  I hope that a better short range radio standard is invented and will make bluetooth devices obselete.

I did get bluetooth to work,but i have no intention of embracing this microsift crapware

Its a shame that inteligent people at Bluetooth have fucked it up.

Indeed i could have bought many adaptors to try but thats not the point why should buying something so basic require so much research. if i had windows then the problem of the right software come to play – not easy for anybody

idiots.

Have music compact disks had there day?

The monkey house uses a lot of linux, compact disk music is an awful format to start with and the tracks being large blocks to pad out that 700mb of capacity that a cd has to read. If you have ever ogg converted a cd and those songs get very small and since my hearing is not that of a hifi loony (those people who pay $250 for gold cables and crap stuff) it does not bother me.

I have some cd’s and the playback seems to be getting worse, i hear pauses while the disk seeks so how long before the cd music dies?. Im not suggesting the linux is at fault but the games the riaa and other loons seems to have made there media not liked,

This is not too much a problem, but the guarantees that a cheap piece of plastic sold at extortionate profit will be future proof seem to be gone. So long to the cd.

That is not good for anybody, but a lesson has been learn’t, as consumer, artists both have been screwed by the copyright lobby and there greed for the next format with even more restrictions.

Netbooks – Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

an asus 1005ha, also available in pink.

The netbook (my blog) was a hard choice in the end, I wanted a mix of the new and be able to run linux.  The recent 12″ netbooks** suffer from poor wifi (no n only g) and no i don’t want an asus 7 series when one can do better than that – no disrespect the the asus 7 and 9 series is intended but hardware moves on.

My ideal base spec to start with was the asus 1000h which had a decent 10″ screen, n running linux – but the place i was going to buy it from sold out, they did have them with the solid state disks (better performance over a conventional disk). It has a huge battery too running 9 hours (say 6 hours between charge, try getting that on a normal laptop).

There was a lot of difference between it and a dell mini (n and linux) and the asus. Dell lost as it had half the memory, and no bluetooth.   I also have issues with Dell, and didn’t want an Microsoft supplied linux version (see the above link). Netbooks do also vary in price +/- £ 40 (no amazon is not cheap) and since i have to pay the windows microsoft tax even though i won’t use it and its bloody hard to get a linux netbook as is i went to my normal place for hardware.

The next target spec I was aiming for was a asus 1000he after my first target 1000h was not available , but the bad numbering from asus means the 1005ha  is apparently ‘better’ than the 1008 asus netbook model in a number of respects, confused ?

An asus 1005ha was procured which has a 9 hour battery,bluetooth (not on the dell mini with linux) but no solid state disk.

So for £ 300 i have a machine  (i started the exercise at 370+ excluding extra ram) with 2gb ram, and an unwanted copy of windows xp thrown in.

Of note: solid state disks are interesting technology to watch when they do go mainstream and even though pricey at the moment, but i am sure the 160 gb conventional disk won’t be wasted.

In reality the netbook does not disappoint, the keyboard is a little small, but very usable.(lets just say a 7″ keyboard is pushing the envelope, a 10″ keyboard is much much better) but i will nitpick at the mouse button, and the n wifi range is rather limited compared to say a laptop (i experimented with different kernels – some are better than others).  Screen is brilliant and the unit really is compact.

There is little crap associated with the asus, a small (intelligent?) power brick and a power cable, unlike some laptops which can accumulate a ton of related stuff (just in case).

Documentation is sparse and can be discarded.

Windows xp is awful on the unit, I opted for eeeubuntu which is nice except that networking needs some hand holding, the ubuntu netbook remix image i could not get install from a usb drive it had compression errors.

A nit pick with eee ubuntu i had with the camera in the unit does work but is rather hidden in eee-ubuntu.

The amusing thing about the whole microsoft fucking asus (try buying a linux supplied netbook from them now)  debacle is that xp is supplied on a dvd disk since the unit does not have a dvd disk drive (eg its an extra) it just shows the threat is on these class of devices which have scared the shit out of microsoft.

However once you scrape the windows stickers off the unit the unit retains some of its dignity better.

5/5 bananas

Remember just because a pc is sold with a monopoly crap item as well don’t assume that it will be used, and that also means we wont be purchasing microsoft office either.

* not cock size, song from the film resovoir dogs. ** once called a laptop

Europeans sign the petition to get a chioce of computer operating systems

Lets not pay Microsoft for stuff we dont want – Please it is here.

Apple iphone freaks rejoice!

Sally laughed at this.

Why is buying a netbook so hard ?

Bananas in the Falklands is in the market fora netbook computer running Linux, and no windows xp will NOT do.

Dell fail - no sale

If you see this and the image to your right (external link) then it appears the Dell seem to think Linux is a microsoft product.

This would make my life much easier since yes I can purchase a linux netbook without paying the evil ms tax but you cannot buy the newer models from the larger retailers either in a shop or online without buying the windows tax as well – odd that.

I hate Dell with a vengeance and the issue abouve put me off purchasing a mini netbook with a 10 inch screen [dells ctb bumps up the price greatly too]. Moreover try an purchase a Eee pc 1000 with just linux on it, no it mean a eec pc 1000ha or other model.  See where i am coming from ?

I will buy the computer without Microsoft and if that means not going to a big website/shop then that is there loss and not mine.

It is also interesting to note that the Novell/Microsoft ‘Suse linux’ distro is not offered either.  Proof positive that Microsoft wants Novell out of business.

Gary McKinnon and his team what a bunch of idiots.

Is an idiot who I briefly mentioned here (my blog) is still trying to avoid going to America. On a bbc ‘news’* program i caught the end of on the 14th July i was updated on the goings on of this special person.

Mr McKinnon believes that little green exist and that the evidence was to be ‘found’ in american computers.  Unfortunately Mr stupid used a credit card number traceable to him, some graphical demo software with a graphical interface on the client computer and the idiot did it during american office hours.

Notice anything ? well somebody did, thus Gary the idiot became the famous little green men hunter who does not want to get raped in american prison everyday.

What is amusing is the way the legal proceedings have taken the McKinnon clan to a new level of idiotic panic.  Yes there’s a problem that if an american was found to be hunting for little green men on british computers that person would never even get to england, scotland or wales, but roll over and tickle my tummy Tony Blair thought it best that Brits can be anwerable to americans whatever the case – including the the enron three (my blog).

As a follower of a separate case in the american courts (mr soloway), Mr McKinnon admitted he did the deed without a lawyer present and was offered a deal, which guarantee or not he then refused as was not ‘watertight’.

As an observant bystander my conclusion of the team of idiots who advise our little green men hunter is nothing short of comtempt. Indeed no american criminal plea bargain is a garantee but the courts do take guidance from said documents.

I am not a lawyer, but even i know a fool when i see one, Gary has been fucked by a lot a people including Tony Blair.

The moral to this ? – don’t hire any of Mr McKinnons legal team they know absolutely nothing about american legal procedings..  Consider yourself advised

* selective