My Dark Linux Confession
  photo credit: phauly |
When it has come to operating systems, I have always had a hard time making up my mind. Windows, for me, has been a good choice for my gaming consoles and a reasonable one for work as well. Mac has become my default office system, having used it now for nearly two years as my primary “getting things done” machine.
However, Linux has always been my secret love affair. It is a relationship that has stretched over half a decade. It began with some spare hard drive space and a desire to to see what Linux was all about. Now, it is a relationship on life support.
You see, I’ve come to notice something. After seven years of using Linux, seven different distros, countless versions and six computers, I’ve finally hit a point where I have to admit something. That every computer I’ve had both Linux and Windows XP on has worked far better with Windows than Linux.
There’s a lot of reasons for this, but none of them bode well for penguin. Read more
Nine Reasons Every Eee PC User Should Get Easy Peasy
In my previous write-up about my six-month journey with the Eee PC, I spent a fair amount of time griping about the default install OS. Though a few of my complaints, such as battery life and keyboard, were primarily related to the laptop itself, most were more software-oriented.
Shortly after penning that review and opening up my Eee PC to use the version 2.0.0.20 Firefox that was inside (there was no means to update to 3.x) I realized I had to change something. With all of the system software hopelessly out of date, the OS wasn’t merely annoying, but dangerous.
So, I did a little bit of research, learned how to install Linux distros using UNetbootin and raced to download an ISO of the latest Ubuntu version.
The experience, however, was less than rewarding. Though the install worked perfectly, requiring only a free 1 GB pen drive, which they now give out in cereal boxes, Ubuntu was a poor fit for the Eee.
The wifi didn’t work properly, the OS gladly ate up much of my precious screen real estate and it required some brutal hacking to get everything running.
Then I read about Easy Peasy, formerly known as Ubuntu Eee (I’m forced to assume the name was dropped fr trademark reasons). I gave it a whirl and it was a like a breath of fresh air. Not only did everything work out of the box, but the system was up to date, shiny and new.
It was what my computer should have been when I first plucked it from the box.
Need more reasons to try Easy Peasy on your Eee? I’ll give you nine, especially if you’re stuck with their version of Xandros. If you want to make it ten, leave a comment and make a suggestion. Read more
Six Months with a EeePC
Back in June, I purchased an EeePC 701 4G Surf off of Amazon for about $300. The goal of it was to replace my aging Compaq laptop that had been dropped, beaten, overwritten, broken and was doing good if it could turn on without flashing an error screen.
I had been doing a lot of traveling and I wanted the EeePC to be my go-to laptop for all my getting around. I already had one trip out of the country planned and had almost half a dozen other conferences lined up. I needed something light, portable and simple. The EeePC seemed to fit the bill.
When I purchased it, I wasn’t looking for anything that would replace my home PC, just something that had enough power to “get me by” while I was on the road. I had no plans to be editing podcasts or making movies. I just wanted to write a few blog posts, touch up a few PowerPoints and check my email.
Now, after six months, two overseas trips, about ten presentations and countless hours of use, I’m finally ready to offer some of my thoughts on how well it has held up and what others might expect from the line should they buy one. Read more
How Google Screws Paying Customers
If you use Gmail, this was a banner week for you. For the first time in years, you can now skin your Gmail without the need to use plugins, extensions or CSS hacks. This is a feature that I have been craving for months, nay, years.
While I’ve appreciated the efforts of amateur coders and some were able to create some cool themes for Gmail, they were always unreliable, especially as Gmail updated its interface, and the selection was always weak. So, news that Google had launched not one, but 30 plus new themes for its mail service had me, and others like me, dancing in the street.
But alas, my dancing was short-lived. When I logged into my Gmail account, it was not there. Even now, after nearly two days, the option is still not there. My wife is tempting me with her shiny new theme and most of my friends have theirs, but I am alone.
The reason is that I am a Google Apps user. Though I don’t pay for my Google Apps account, many of my friends do and they too are without themes, as well as Labs and other popular Gmail features.
We Google Apps users are getting a raw deal. Whether we are paid or unpaid, we are more intimately tied to Google than most Gmail users and we are getting an inferior product to those that just signed up for a @gmail.com account.
This is no way to treat your customer and is an excellent example of why Google should never, ever, get in the business of customer service. They simply have no clue what they are doing. Read more
10 Things I hate About Mac
To be perfectly clear, I am a Mac user and I love my choice of OS. I’ve used Windows, I’ve used Linux and I’ve used Mac. In fact, I own at least one computer with each OS. However, my main computer is a Mac and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
That being said, there is no reason to believe that Mac is perfect and I cringe at the fan boys that seem to think that it is. Being the best among these three systems is a bit like winning a three-legged race. Sure, you won, but you could have gotten across the line a lot faster without cousin Ralph tied to your right leg.
Even though I love my Mac there are still a lot things about it that irk me. So, in celebration of thinking different (I know, it’s an old slogan), I present to you my top ten pet peeves about Mac. Read more
