My Free Software Resolution

January 4th, 2009

*The Resolution*

I, threethirty, do resolve to use free software more in 2009 than in
any year before and if possible, to implement new systems, features, and
capabilities with 100% free software./

That means if you’re looking for a new web browser, you’ll consider Firefox.
If you need to open one of those weird .docx Word Documents, you’re going to
use Open Office. And finally, you’re going to try GNU/Linux. There are so
many ways to try it that one of these has got to be for you.

*Start 2009 out right*

1. Order a free Ubuntu Live CD from http://shipit.ubuntu.com [1] and boot up
your computer with it. Voila! You’re trying GNU/Linux.

2. Ask your nearest techie to download and burn Ubuntu or Fedora to a CD for
you. Pop it in your CD drive and reboot. Some would call that trying
GNU/Linux.

3. Ask your nearest techie to install GNU/Linux for you and see the world of
computers with fresh eyes as you try GNU/Linux.

4. Download the source code to Azureus, configure and build the package, then
use it to download Arch, CrunchBang, or SlackWare and run that baby in a
virtual machine using VirtualBox OSE.

5. Finally, if you need help with any of the above submit a support request
at http://trygnulinux.com/getsupport.php [2] and we’ll do our best to help
you with the next step.

With this New Year’s resolution, 2009 can be a spectacular year for free
software so try to stick with it. Next New Year, we’re hoping to find a
fitter, healthier, more-free-software-using you. Happy New Year from everyone
at TryGNULinux.com.

[1] http://shipit.ubuntu.com
[2] http://trygnulinux.com/getsupport.php

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Shownotes Season 3 Episode 25

January 4th, 2009

Cast of Cranks:
threethirty
monsterb
azimuth
jlindsay
Chad Wollenberg
Xoke
Mrs. Xoke
Dann

Stories:

Understanding Canonical’s new Linux notification system

http://arstechnica.com/guides/other/canonical-linux-notification-system.ars

A change in status

Canonical, the company behind the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution, has announced plans to overhaul desktop notifications. The project is part of a broader initiative that the company launched earlier this year to boost the usability of the Linux software ecosystem.

===========================================

“I’m Linux” Video Contest Will Probably Be a Forking Mess

http://gizmodo.com/5115140/im-linux-video-contest-will-probably-be-a-forking-mess/?rss

Move over Hodgman and that hipster kid who briefly dated Drew Barrymore, because there’s a new advertising campaign in town that hopes to take Linux into the mainstream. With commercials.

It’s true. The Linux Foundation saw those successful I’m a Mac commercials, and Jerry Seinfeld playing with Bill Gates, and they wanted in. So they’re having a video contest that will try and showcase “just what Linux means to those who use it, and hopefully inspires many to try it.”

=============================================

Open source makes serious headway in the U.S. Department of Defense

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10126839-16.html?part=rss

When I first got involved with open source back in 1998, it was perceived as risky (Rampant fear of the GPL and other open-source licenses), not secure (How can community development take care to lock out the bad guys?), and niche. In 2008, however, the CTO of a powerful agency within the U.S. Department of Defense boldly declares open source’s superiority as a development model:

Open source brings to us the ability to have collaborative and agile development environments….Additionally, open source benefits the Department of Defense through…simplified licensing…and security….Security through obscurity just doesn’t work.

===============================================

Ubiquiti Networks
The Embededded Wireless Dream Machine that runs Linux. (OpenWrt)
Featuring a fast 680MHz Atheros MIPS 24K CPU, 64MB RAM, 16MB Flash, 3 mini-PCI slots, 3 10/100 ethernet interfaces, a 5A power supply for multiple hi-power card support, USB 2.0, and enhanced temperature operating performance and ethernet ESD protection for carrier applications. $59 US MSRP

Announcing Ubiquiti’s RouterStation User Interface/Firmware Challenge!

In an effort to enrich and contribute to the open-source community, Ubiquiti Networks is offering $200,000 in cash prizes for developers who provide the most impressive User Interface/Firmware for Ubiquiti’s newly released open-source embedded wireless platform, the RouterStation.
Grand Prize Winner: $160,000!
Four Runner-Up Winners: $10,000 each!

URL: http://www.ubnt.com/products/rs.php

Challenge: http://www.ubnt.com/challenge/

===============================================

GNU IceCat 3.05 released on Jan 2nd, 2009

GNU IceCat is the GNU version of the Firefox browser. Its main advantage is an ethical one: it is entirely free software. While the source code from the Mozilla project is free software, the binaries that they release include additional non-free software. Also, they distribute and recommend non-free software as plug-ins.

URL: http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/

================================================

AMD has released open source code for the R600 and R700 GPUs. This code is a working direct rendering manager, providing EXA acceleration, and lays the foundation for further open source development of 3D accelerated drivers.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd_r600_oss_3d&num=1

================================================
Pete(r64)’s Picks of the Week:

None: Peter was at a fancy dress party or so he states

================================================

The Zoo : Randy Noseworthy http://noseworthy.me

================================================
a possible way to install #! on a regular ubuntu install :

01:44 [00:45] deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/spring/ubuntu intrepid main
01:44 [00:46] deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/gezakovacs/ubuntu intrepid main
01:45 [00:45] deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/spring/ubuntu intrepid main
01:45 [00:45] deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/gezakovacs/ubuntu intrepid main
01:45 these 4 ^^^
01:45 all the ppa.launchpad
01:45 is that essentially #!-desktop?
01:46 yeah

confusing but i think you can all sort it out :)

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Shownotes Season 3 Episode 24 (Second Try)

December 28th, 2008

Cast Of Cranks:

Threethirty
Monsterb
Azimuth
Peter64
Xoke & Mrs. Xoke
Dann

Special Guest: Dave “Sexy” Yates of LottaLinuxLinks

Stories:

#Something We all knew without having to be told . The Economist Suggests Linux For Netbooks

http://mobile.slashdot.org/mobile/08/12/13/2256213.shtml

“In its roundup of how to choose a netbook, The Economist suggests that users ‘avoid the temptation’ to go for a Windows-based netbook, and in particular to treat them as mini laptops on which you’ll install a range of apps. In their view, by the time you add the specs needed to run Windows and Windows apps effectively, you might as well have just bought a smallish laptop. Instead, they suggest the sweet spot is ultra-lite, Linux-based netbooks, with a focus on pre-installed software that caters to common tasks,

#Acer says Windows netbook sales are crushing the Linux installs. “Our Windows XP netbooks are outselling Linux machines by more than 9 to 1,” Henry Lee senior product manager - retail channel manager, Acer Computer Australia, told iTWire.

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/22362/53/

#13 Free Linux E-Books from Lulu.com: (Might be good for Free Linux Help Line)

Moving From Windows to Linux (7 pages)
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_64/4632000/4632020/1/print/Linux.pdf

MANUALINUX, the Linux Manual (153 pages)
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_64/4400000/4400035/1/print/manualinuxen.pdf

Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide (249 pages)
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_18/326000/326226/1/print/intro-linux.pdf

Mandriva Linux 2007 for Home Users (50 pages)
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_44/603000/603439/4/print/603439.pdf

Exploring Open Source Alternatives (for the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University) (58 pages)
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_1/120000/120797/1/print/Exploring_Open_Source_Alternatives_for_School_of_ECE.pdf

An Open Letter To A Digital World (7 pages)
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_1/93000/93646/1/print/tideturning.pdf

Technical Challenges (67 pages)
Focused on open source software and graphic design.
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_63/1621000/1621993/2/print/tech-challenge-prepress.pdf

Getting Started with OpenOffice.org 3 (436 pages)
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_64/4633000/4633456/3/print/OOo3GettingStarted.pdf

Inkscape (212 pages)
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_64/4617000/4617381/1/print/inkscape.pdf

#IT Class fails exam for submitting work in .doc format (The teacher told them to)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/08/cotelands_word/

29 students of a computing class at a school in Lincolnshire have all failed to gain their diploma because their teacher told them to save their coursework in Microsoft Word format, which is not accepted by the exam board.

#Kinda of a follow up to the EEE Top:

Asus To Release 20 & 22-inch EEE Top Touchscreen PCs in 2009

Asus has finally released its EEE Top all-in-one computer in the UK and has already announced bigger 22-inch touchscreen monitors for next year as the Taiwanese company outsources production to rival Quanta. According to Digitimes, Asus will be releasing 20-inch and 22-inch EEE Top before July 2009 with an estimated five millions being shipped by 2010. The release of these new models, which will almost certainly bring multi-touch navigation, will coincide with the build up to the launch of Microsoft Windows 7 towards the end of 2009. The current EEE Top, the ETP1602, however will still run on Windows XP, will use an Atom N270 processor, 1GB memory and a 160GB hard disk drive. Other notable features include a 1.3-megapixel camera and two 4w speakers.

I know the EEE Tops run Windows, but the hardware is very close to eeepc, except for the touchscreen.
http://www.itproportal.com/articles/2008/11/21/asus-release-22-inch-eee-top-touchscreen-pcs-2009/

No word on the price of the 20 & 22″ models. But CEO Jerry Shen of Asustek said 15.4″ model retails for $565 US
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20081120PD217.html

Peter cant wait till they load Splashtop on these Bad Boys

#OpenSuse 11.1 has been released. Features improvements to Yast and a less freedom hating EULA.

Ships with:
* Gnome 2.24.1
* KDE 4.1.3
* Linux 2.6.27.7
* Glibc 2.9
* Python 2.6
* Perl 5.10
* Mono 2.0
* OpenOffice.org 3.0

http://news.opensuse.org/2008/12/18/opensuse-111-released/

#Adobe has moved their AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) product out of beta and released it for Linux. AIR is a platform for building rich internet applications using Flash, Ajax, HTML, and Flex.

http://blogs.adobe.com/air/2008/12/adobe_air_15_now_available_for.html

#Sun has released Virtualbox 2.1, among the new features are experimental support for OpenGL hardware acceleration inside the guest OS, Core i7 processor support, and 64 bit guest OS running on a 32 bit host.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=NjkzOA

#Lenovo to release ThinkPad laptop with 2 LCD screens

December 19, 2008 (Computerworld) Lenovo Group Ltd. today announced the release of a ThinkPad laptop that takes the “desktop replacement” category of notebook PCs to a new level.

The ThinkPad W700ds appears to be the first laptop ever to sport two LCD screens — a 17-in. primary and a 10.6-in. secondary screen.

The souped-up “mobile workstation,” as Lenovo calls it, also comes with customers’ choice of quad-core Intel Core 2 processors and Nvidia Quadro mobile graphics CPU with as many as 128 cores. It also comes with as much as 8GB of DDR3 memory and a pair of hard drive/solid-state drive bays for up to 960GB of storage.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9124101&intsrc=hm_list

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Peter64’s Love of Linux

December 23rd, 2008

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QtCreator

December 22nd, 2008

Sometimes I’ll see a blog post by some sys admin or programmer or similar, and they’re reviewing a video editor or audio mixer, and they’re reviewing it kind of well…but I have to chuckle a bit because you can also tell that they’re faking it somewhat — like they don’t really know what features to look for but they have seen screenshots of what a those kinds of apps are supposed to do, so they judge the linux app off of that second-hand knowledge.

Well, that’s what I’m about to do in reverse, so apologies to all the people who actually understand what I’m about to blindly review.

The app that I discovered today is QtCreator, which is a programming IDE by TrollTech/Nokia for C++.  Now, I’ve tried a couple of different IDE’s after I was indoctrinated on Xcode, and knew there had to be something better.  Turns out, there are; there’s Eclipse (not exactly C++ centric), there’s NetBeans by Sun (eh…it’s by Sun), there’s KDevelop (which I like).

So far I’ve toyed around with NetBeans and KDevelop mostly, with KDevelop being the primary one since it is directly tied to Qt4 support and also supports Python and all the other languages I have no idea how to use.

But QtCreator did catch my eye because, well, it’s shiney and pretty, and well laid out, and has tutorials built into it, and seems overall very intuitively designed.  Now all I need to do is learn how to program.  But if you know how to program, and if you are looking for a good C++ IDE and want to use the cross-platform and fancy slick Qt libraries to make some neat free apps, then by all means check QtCreator out at http://labs.trolltech.com/blogs/category/qtcreator/

And if you don’t know anything about programming, check out some screenshots of the app anyway, because there’s just no way around it: Qt looks good, feels good, and when well-designed a Qt App is a pleasure to run on any OS and will help spread free software to everyone.

And this leads me to WHY i like Qt so much!  These programmers get to code once, and are able to distribute to everyone.  This kind of play-nice-with-other-OS’s is just plain smart, because we can’t realistically expect everyone to drop their current OS and come to Linux because they care about free software.  But we all have stories of how we’ve at least gotten our families and friends onto free alternatives like Firefox, Open Office / Neo Office, and all those other free apps.  And then, as the proverb goes, it will be easier for them to Switch To Linux when the time is right.  Why waste resources on taking Firefox code and doing it in Mac’s native Cocoa or Wind0ws’s [whatever] when it could all be done attractively and functionally in Qt?

That’s just my humble opinion, but it makes sense to me.  And yeah, I know people are going to yell at me again for trying to find One Ring to Rule Them All and stuff like that, but I just find pragmatism attractive in some cases.

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FLHL looking for Freesoftware Adverts

December 22nd, 2008

The guys at the Free Linux Help Line (http://freelinuhelpline.net) are looking for Ads to run between segments of their soon to be podcast. So do you know of a Distro, App, Event, or Podcast that is or is about Free Software? Well if you can condense your enthusiasm into 30 seconds or so then send them to freelinuxhelpline@gmail.com. Ep 0 is scheduled for January 10th.

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How To IRC

December 18th, 2008

How To IRC

By: Klaatu

So one of the cool ways of getting to participate and feeling like part of this mythical Linux “community” is the tradition of IRC: Internet Relay Chat.  There are a lot of channels out there where very interesting people hang out, and there is also #linuxcranks.

If you want to jump on IRC sometime, the easiest way is IRSSI (no, really, it is).  This is a terminal based application that is really powerful but you can use just the basics of it at first.  And I am going to show you how to do it.

OK, so what distro are you using?  Ubuntu? fancy that.  OK, so do this:

$ sudo apt-get install irssi

If you’re not running Ubuntu you probably know how to install irssi or already have it installed.  But for instance, if you’re on Debian:

$ su -c ‘aptitude install irssi’

on Fedora you’d do this:
$ su -c ‘yum install irssi’

And if you’re running Slackware you already have it because a good sensible distro like that knows well enough to include irssi.

…anyway, you’ve now installed the application “irssi”.  Now you can start it up:

$ irssi –nick klaatu

ok, so instead of “klaatu” use your name or desired Handle.  A “handle” is an internet name leet haxxorz use.  Usually they reference a Star Wars character (usually a Sith Lord) or something vaguely Satanic (like “threethirty”).  Or you can use something boring like “Peter64″.  Anything will do.

You will see irssi start up and soon you’ll be staring at a more or less blank screen.  What is happening here is that you are in irssi but not signed onto any IRC server.  One of the most common ones for innocent fun-loving Linux salt-of-the-earth Linux folk like you and me is “freenode”.  To sign on you do this:

/server irc.freenode.com

Now you’ll see a lot of text scroll by and some greetings and just way too much information in general.  Ignore it.  Remember, a good linux user never reads anything (just kidding!)

OK so now you’re on the server but … you are not in a Channel (what some people think of as a “chat room”…but never call it that or you will be made fun of).  To join a channel, the command is:

/join #linuxcranks

And you will be taken to #linuxcranks and can start chatting.

Keep in mind a few things:

- being in an IRC channel is like being in a crowded room.  Everyone is talking to everyone else at the same time.  Usually there are only a few things being said at a time, but sometimes you will want to address someone specifically.  The way you do this is simply type in their name followed by a colon, and then type your message.

- if your in #linuxcranks, a user named terryf WILL attempt to private-message you.  Just ignore him.

- Be bold and speak up.  Say hi to someone.  Say hi to Klaatu if you are shy, because Klaatu’s shy too and probably won’t say much but at least he won’t be mean to you.

- Generally speaking, IRC channels are friendly places.  Speak up and just have fun.

- Other IRC channels you might want to explore are:  #lottalinuxlinks   #linuxbasement   #linuxoutlaws   #kde    and so on…

When you want to leave a channel, you can say good-bye and then type:

/win c

That will close that channel.  You can then go to other channels the same way you got into #linuxcranks.

When you want to quit irssi altogether, you can type:

/exit

As I’ve said, there is a lot more you can do in irssi; you can be in many channels at once, you can PM people like terryf does, you can…well ok that’s really about it, but it’s a cool application and makes IRC pertty simple.

So, good luck and I hope to see you around on IRC!

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Shownotes Season 3 Episode 23

December 14th, 2008

Cast of Cranks:

threethirty
Monsterb
Azimuth
jlindsay
Peter64
klaatu
Dann

Stories:
#Wine 1.1.10 Released.

#FireFox beats the pants off of Chrome in javascript render tests

We already knew that Firefox nightly beats Chrome in speed, the gap is getting wider with the latest Firefox builds (3.2a1pre). While Google Chrome uses webkit as a layout engine it uses it’s own javascript engine called V8. On the other hand webkit developers are quietly tweaking away its SquirrelFish engine for javascript speed increase.

http://www.linuxhaxor.net/2008/12/04/firefox-nightly-beats-chrome-in-speed-and-webkit-nightly-eats-them-for-breakfast/

#The EXT4 file-system is being marked as stable in the forthcoming Linux 2.6.28 kernel, and some Linux distributions potentially switching to it as an interim step until the btrfs file-system is ready

For those that have yet to read about the EXT4 file-system, it has several advantages over its predecessor, EXT3, but it’s more along the lines of just an update and not a complete overhaul. In fact, EXT4 is both forward and backwards compatible with EXT3. One of the major differences between EXT4 and EXT3 (and EXT2 for that matter) is the introduction of Extents. The Extents feature replaces block mapping, which is designed to improve performance with the creation of larger files, and will reduce fragmentation on the hard disk. Extents are similarly used within Reiser4, XFS, and Apple’s HFS+. Some of the other features for EXT4 include delayed allocation, persistent pre-allocation, and journal check summing. The EXT4 file-system supports partition sizes up to 1 Exabyte and up to 640,000 sub-directories per directory.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=ext4_benchmarks&num=1

#Slackware 12.2 is released. This brings the software more up to date for the 12.x series without making major changes and reducing stability.

Among the many program updates and distribution enhancements, you’ll find Xfce 4.4.3, and KDE 3.5.10, the final 3.x version of the K Desktop Environment.  They have added to Slackware support for HAL (the Hardware Abstraction Layer) which allows the system administrator to add
users to the cdrom and plugdev groups. Then they will be able to use items such as USB flash sticks, USB cameras that appear like USB storage, portable hard drives, CD and DVD media, MP3 players, and more, all without requiring sudo, the mount or umount command.  Just plug and play.  Properly set up, Slackware’s desktop should be suitable for any level of
Linux experience.

http://slackware.com/announce/12.2.php

#Amarok 2.0 has been released, but do we like the changes to the user interface?

* Redesigned user interface
* integration with services like Magnatune, Jamendo, MP3tunes, Last.fm and Shoutcast
* Overhauled scripting API and plugin support to allow better integration into Amarok
* Migration from the KDE3 to KDE4 framework, utilization of core technologies like Solid, Phonon, and Plasma

http://amarok.kde.org/en/releases/2.0

#HP is back into the Linux desktop market with a system for schools and businesses. The $519 HP Compaq dc5850 will sell with SuSe Linux Enterprise Desktop.

there are a lot of configurations but you can get between a:
AMD Sempron LE-1250 (2.2 GHz) and AMD Phenom X4 9600B processor (2.3 GHz)
Maximum memory 8 GB and the configs come 512MB to 2GB
GFX Integrated AMD Radeon 3100 Graphics ,NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS  PCIe x16, ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT PCIe x16
HDD 80 GB 7200 rpm SATA to 3.5-in Removable 250 GB 7200 rpm SATA 3.0

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9123139&intsrc=hm_list

#Sun has reached a deal with Toshiba to begin preinstalling OpenSolaris on certain models of their laptops. There are no specific details on which models, but they’re set to be rolled out early into 2009.

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/OpenSolaris-now-on-Toshiba-laptops-/0,130061733,339293785,00.htm

#The Blender Institute has released the new open source game “Yo Frankie!” online. The game is based around characters from the previously released Blender project “Big Buck Bunny”. The zip file includes all the project files to play with in Blender, and as usual all the project files are released under the Creative Commons license. Similar to the Big Buck Bunny release, DVDs containing extra content are available for sale.

http://www.yofrankie.org/?p=700
———- Advocate Corner ———-
#We have a nice commentary via Itwire.com on the difficulty Linux Vendors and other Vendors like IBM have had in breaking the lock-in ms has in the enterprise.  The author posits that instead of trying to replace whole heartedly we should pushed for running virtualized windows instances along side these these other technologies until the lock-in is broken, if it ever is.

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/22137/1154

#In contrast that with the previous story we have an article from tech republic where the author debates points made in a referenced post about the increase of former and current windows users coming over to Linux and bringing their prejudices with them.  Does the Linux community run the risk of perverting Linux by catering to the desires of these users who would like to see Linux run more like Windows?

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/opensource/?p=306

#And the last Advocate Corner story for tonight: 5 quick tips to help in your advocacy that seem pretty well thought out.

http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/columns/5_tips_free_software_advocates
—————————————
#FSF goes after Cisco for GPL violations (thanks to Evil_thumos for bringing this article to klaatu’s attn)

Long story short…the headline says it all, Cisco isn’t providing source code and will not comply with GPL, so FSF taking them to court… again.  The projects in question are GCC, binutils, and the GNU C Library.

http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/12/11/1745254&from=rss
http://www.fsf.org/news/2008-12-cisco-suit

#SanDisk announces ExtremeFFS for “100 times faster” SSD write speeds

SSDs will apparently get a serious (extreme, if you will) upgrade in the coming year, with SanDisk’s announcement of a new technology dubbed ExtremeFFS (Flash File System). It is, as you can possibly guess, a new file system, but it’ll use page-based methods so that the data’s location on the drive won’t be tied to its physical space, as it is now. SanDisk says this means that random write speeds are going to be 100 times faster than they are on drives using current technology. The company hopes that this advance, coupled with other upcoming standards, will lead to widespread adoption of SSDs in PCs (and much, much more money in their pockets). That should fit in nicely with news we just heard that Microsoft’s Windows 7, unlike Vista, will include optimization for use with the drives. While actual drives that carry ExtremeFFS have yet to be announced, SanDisk expects them to ship in 2009.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/05/sandisk-announces-extremeffs-for-100-times-faster-ssd-write-sp/

—– 2 minutes of hate ——
This first story hit /. , digg, BoingBoing, and on and on

http://linuxlock.blogspot.com/2008/12/linux-stop-holding-our-kids-back.html and sparked rage in the community but now it has come out that not everything was reported and since then HeliOS has been back-pedalling http://linuxlock.blogspot.com/2008/12/character-assasinations-aint-us.html

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HOWTO survive an episode of Linux Cranks

December 12th, 2008

HOWTO survive an episode of Linux Cranks
By: Klaatu

If you’re new to Linux Cranks, you may be surprised by the randomness, lack of focus, relaxed-to-the-point-of-irresponsibility, disorderly conduct, and sheer wackiness of the show and its hosts. But do not fear! there are things you can do to prepare yourself for this two-hour+ assault of humor, vulgarity, and poignancy.

1. Sleep — don’t do it. If you stay up really late the night before, get through Saturday without a nap, and then stay up for late yet again for Linux Cranks, a lot of the humor in it will be funnier, the randomness will seem to have C++like logic, and the commentary will sound profound.

2. Coffee — a good cup of coffee and Linux go together like vegemite and toast. You can scarcely imagine how you ever had one without the other. So, pour yourself a cup of coffee, make it light & sweet (if you are from NYC you know what this means), and kick back.

3. Distractions — don’t expect to just sit down and listen to the Cranks without something else to do. Turn on telly, or get all your toddler’s playmates to come over and scream and play in the background. Once the noise level has reached its maximum, call in to the Cranks and try to have a sensible conversation with them. The Cranks love background noise; it adds character.

4. Computer — the more the better. Remember the Un!x philosophy: one computer doing one task and doing it well. This means you must have one computer just to play the Cranks, one computer to do IRC on, and another to make it look like you’re actually working so when the girlfriend-or-wife-or-boyfriend-or-husband-or-significant-other strolls by it seems like you’re being productive. Having so many screens to stare at will also keep you in a semi-awake state as you drift in and out of Cranks-induced sleep-deprived trances. Soon, you’ll be imagining that you’re the captain of a space ship with all those screens glaring at you. At that point, you know it’s definitely time to call in.

5. Spork — because you never know when you might need it.

6. Thick Skin — The Cranks can be rough sometimes. They don’t really mean to be, they just are. So if you don’t have a thick skin, spend Saturday doing rigorous exercise, and even ask your significant-other to maybe come outside with you while you do those exercises and yell at you like a drill sergeant. It will freak out your dog and the neighbors and everyone else but it will be worth it when you return a strong wo/man.

7. Annoying Opinions — If you’re going to run with the Cranks you need to be ready to stand by your poorly formed opinions. Don’t come into #linuxcranks void of a firm stand on something completely nonsensical. For instance, you might try being a KDE hater. Or you say Enlightenment is not a real desktop environment. You might try obsessively using Suse, or say that Slackware is no longer relevant. These are obviously absurd ideas but if you can type all in caps defending them to the last, you will either become well admired or just /kicked from the channel. But either way, you’ll have had fun.

8. Fun — have it.

9. Humor — have a really bad sense of humor and really bad timing. Your failed jokes encourage others to attempt to save you, and it generally ends up being either really funny or just really embarrassing….both of which are hallmarks of Linux Cranks.

10. Merlyn — just avoid him. don’t mention him, don’t think about him, never bring him up. He is the enemy. The mere mention of his name could send the Cranks onto a tangent from which they may never recover.

That’s about it… So gear up for the next episode, and don’t forget your towel.

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Shownotes Season 3 Episode 22

December 8th, 2008

Cast of Cranks

threethirty
monsterb
Azimuth
Klaatu
Xoke
Peter64
jlindsay
dann

Stories

##We’ve been talking about package kit here is an interesting project: http://zero-install.sourceforge.net/ this has been around for a while but doesnt seem to be picking up any speed

##a/v converter for nautilus: http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Audio%2BVideo%2BImage%2BText+Convert?content=92533

##Atheros Wi-Fi goes open-source, Linux friendly

http://blogs.computerworld.com/atheros_wi_fi_goes_open_source_linux_friendly

If you use Wi-Fi on your laptop, there’s an excellent chance you’re using Atheros chipsets for your wireless networking. Atheros’ silicon is in gear from Linksys, D-Link and Netgear to name but a few vendors. However, although Atheros has been popular, they haven’t always been friendly to open-source and Linux developers. That has been changing over the years and now, thanks to Sam Leffler, noted open-source developer, the HAL (hardware abstraction layer) for Atheros’ ath5k and ath9k chip families.

##Follow Up to our story, OLPC laptops for Australian school kids

l-17 Submit the post and link

Linux netbooks look likely to save Australian government education election promise
by David M Williams
Wednesday, 03 December 2008

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/22063/1141/

The New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education and Training (DET) has today revealed its required specifications for custom-built laptops it intends to issue to students from grades 9 to 12 by the middle of 2009. In what is remniscent of a netbook, the budget is set at $500 per model, with hardware at that level.

One of the most notable promises by Kevin Rudd in the lead up to his 2007 election victory was the announcement that a Rudd government would provide high school students nationwide with laptops to assist with their education.

Hardware manufacturers have been asked to provide expressions of interest by January 14th.
The specs look spookily close to the current emerging market of netbooks – low priced ultra portable computing devices – and it seems most likely that, in a blow to Microsoft, a variant of Linux will be chosen as the operating system to power the units given that Linux attracts no licensing fees whatsoever and has been proven to work on low powered hardware already.

—-Why Switch Corner—-
##Virus hits nearly 75% of systems on Afghanistan military base. So bad they had to inform the president. Of course its Windows… but they don’t say that out loud.
http://blog.linuxtoday.com/blog/2008/12/trumpet-windows.html

##Apple tells Mac users: Get anti-virus: Bragging rights diminish by 12% in face of growing threat
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/02/apple_mac_av_advice/
—————————-

##Python 3.0 (aka Python 3000) has been officially released and is production ready. Python 3.0 is intentionally backwards incompatible with the Python 2.x releases.
http://www.python.org/download/releases/3.0/

##First Australian Android phone is released
http://apcmag.com/breaking_first_australian_android_phone_revealed.htm

##Authorities in the Chinese city of Nanchang are compelling the city’s Internet cafes to replace their Windows operating systems with Red Flag Linux — and charging them about $726 for it as well. Some cafe owners are closing down rather than comply.
http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/65362.html

—– the guys didnt go through these stories [bastards :)] ——

##Ubuntu has once again opened up a call for submissions to anyone interested in being a part of the Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase. If you’re a musician, artist, photographer, or all-around creative genius and would like to enter your work in the current competition, you’ve got until February 9, 2009 to submit something to the judges.
http://ostatic.com/blog/ubuntu-free-culture-showcase-looking-for-artistic-ninjas

##IBM, Canonical and Virtual Bridges have launched a low-cost, virtualized Ubuntu Linux build for big — really big — corporate customers. No, this won’t kill Microsoft. But the IBM move is a big-time attack on Windows and Office
http://www.thevarguy.com/2008/12/04/can-virtualized-ubuntu-linux-disrupt-corporate-desktops/

##Andrew W. Tanenbaum (creator of Minix) takes Linux to task asking Why Can’t Computers Just Work All the Time?
The feud between Minix inventor and operating system czar Andrew W. Tanenbaum and Linux Torvalds is legendary in the OS world. Before Linux there was Minix. Torvalds used to be a Minix user who set up his first Linux version in 1991 on Professor Tanenbaum’s operating system. Mr. Tanenbaum has now agreed to write a guest editorial for Linux Magazine. His opinion has not changed over the years: Linux (and Windows) are “unreliable.”

Pete(r64)’s Picks of the Week

none

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