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28 days of Linux

By Liam, February 9, 2006

I decided upon seeing whether Linux truly is a solid platform for day-to-day computing.

[UPDATED]

So lately I’ve been thinking of things to do. While waiting for the releases of such sofware as IE 7 and Windows Vista, as well as an update to Google Earth that gives it a UI like Picasa and the Yahoo! Mail beta, I’d try something new. I decided upon seeing whether Linux truly is a solid platform for day-to-day computing. I decided that I would see what it would be like to have only Linux installed. Since there is no way I’d ever uninstall Windows (I know it far too well), I will just use the Linux distro I dual boot with.

The hardware I will use be using is as follows:

  • Custom Built PC
  • 3.0 Ghz Pentium 4 (1MB L2, HyperThreading)
  • 512 MB PC 3200 DDR RAM
  • ATi Radeon X850 PRO AGP
  • 15” Sylvania Flat Panel
  • 6GB 7200 RPM Maxtor HDD

The software I will be using:

  • Ubuntu Linux 5.10
  • GNOME 2.12 (Window Manager)
  • Firefox 1.0.7
  • Ximian Evolution
  • GAIM
  • AbiWord

I will follow these guidelines:

  • Every task i need to do should at least be thoroughly attempted in Linux before going to Windows for that task.
  • I can boot into Windows if I want to try something. I’m expecting a patch to Battlefront II soon, and when that’s released, I will boot into Windows to install and use it.
  • Should my Ubuntu install become unbootable, I will use Windows until I can boot into it (I don’t plan for this to happen.)
  • I will be attempting to keep…
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Apple hasn’t impressed me lately

By moreApple, February 9, 2006

I have a new iMac Core Duo, two iPods (one a shuffle), lots of free time to play with new toys, and yet I don’t want to.  In fact, I just want to get Sogudi and some other programs working and for the iPod to start having better playlist creation tools, like Party Shuffle and resume from what iTunes was playing. 

Lately, I’ve cared more about finding the coolest beer and a girlfriend than how much RAM I have (512) even though I can buy a bigger stick (I wish I could do that...in bed---an upgrade is an upgrade). 

Lately, I’ve been less and less interested in reading on the computer because my school wants me to read as a full-time job.

Lately, I’ve not found anything new but I’ve still taken advantage of the amazing show Front Row puts on even though it is laggy otherwise.  Nothing new doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with what is (except Rosetta’s sluggishness sad ).

As of late, things have been more about finding a compelling reason to do anything I don’t agree with.  It’s always hard to do what you think is not ideal.  I search and search within myself and hundreds of people I talk to for the reason why I’m here, in Stony Brook, yet my heart is elsewhere but in the end it’s simple.

When you have to think too hard you’re just doing that for practice.  W = UH.  See “FaceBook”. 

The simple thing is that when you argue a…
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Apple should open its Fairplay format

By Arden, February 6, 2006

The only losers will be the companies making iPod competitors, because they have little to no chance of taking over the market.

So it seems Apple is finding itself the defendant in an antitrust lawsuit of monopolistic proportions.  As quoted:

Plaintiff Thomas Slattery’s lawsuit claims Apple configured the iPod so that it will play only iTunes files and not digital music files from competing vendors of online music. Apple has also encoded its iTunes files so they will only play on the iPod and not any other digital music player, the complaint says.

…

With respect to the “tying” allegations, the judge said Slattery was claiming Apple forces people who own iPods to buy music online only from iTunes and also forces iTunes customers to buy iPods to play the music they purchase.

So basically, since you can only purchase songs from the iTunes Music Store for your iPod, and since the iPod is so prevalent, Apple has a monopoly on iPod-compatible music store purchases.  Nevermind that all the other music stores use a proprietary format from Microsoft that Apple is never going to support, regardless of whether they have an online music store or not; it removes the power of consumer choice because, while AAC is an open format, the DRM that Apple attaches to it is not.

So Apple should open up their Fairplay format, and allow other companies to license it for their own music stores.  What do they have to lose?  They already control the vast majority of the music player market, and it’s common knowledge that the iTunes Music Store is nothing if not a sales tool for…
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The value of your education?

By moreApple, February 6, 2006

Alumni associations start requesting donations from as little as a year out of graduation.  If you had to a put a dollar figure on your diploma, regardless of what you spent on it, what do you think it has been worth?  Is it going to get less or more valuable in the future?

I really care about this because I’ve switched from a well-regarded private school to a good public school but at both I am not satisfied, not with the costs, but with the process.  If I’m going to continue tell me what you profitted.  Please also talk about “your education’s” impact on your mind.

Thanks!


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iMac G5 Hard Drive Replacement

By Arden, February 3, 2006

Storage is a requirement for everybody, but one problem that constantly arises for geeks is running out of hard drive space.  We go from small 20 MB hard drives to 200 MB, up to 2 GB, then 20 GB, then 200 GB and beyond.  Eventually, computers will have holographic hard drives with terabytes and terabytes of data in them.

Until that happens, I’m content with upgrading a reasonable amount for what the storage trends say I should have right now.  My iMac shipped with an 80 GB hard drive (the lowest size — it’s the lowest in its class for processor and graphics card, the smallest screen size, etc.), and for a while I’ve been feeling constrained by this.  In December, I ordered a new 250 GB hard drive that was dead on arrival, so I had to ship it back and wait for a new one.  Well, I’m happy to announce that my hard drive finally arrived (and worked), so I did the switch, and I can now show everyone the process.  This will be a tutorial for replacing the drive on a 17”, pre-iSight iMac G5 only.  The 20” pre-iSight iMac and the iMacs with iSights, both G5 and Intel Core Duo, have different internal configurations and take different steps.

Note: If you plan to follow this tutorial, please read the entire article before you start.  I am not responsible for your data loss if you follow my directions improperly, or hell, even if you follow them correctly and…
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