Feisty Fawn is released into the woods and the Lord said, it was GOOD!

Ok, the Lord did not say that but I sure did.  Network Manager installed by default.  Getting ATI drivers working on it was PAINLESS!  Just a couple tweaks to a few things related to suspend and it works pretty well too!  My only complaint, is every once in a while, the ethernet adapter flys the coop.  I just need to edit the same script I did for the wireless card to have it remove the ethernet module prior to suspend and load it on resume and I think that will fix that too.

Couple minor things…Desktop effects won’t work without XGL on this machine.  I’ll get around to it (once someone ELSE does).  The main issue with this is the ATI driver yet again.  Why in the world in this day and age ATI doesn’t release a driver capable of compositing is beyond me.  This same care would likely work perfectly on Windows Vista in the super cool idiot mode.  Anyway, I can live without this for a while and I have to say that Ubuntu is a premier distro now and is now THE distro I use and recommend.  I even would recommend it to total geeks as it’s EASY to setup.  Geeks don’t ALWAYS like the hard road….I have a life too and if it takes me a long time to get things like LAMP working, well screw that distro.  I also don’t have the time to go through many different ACPI scripts to figure our why my laptop won’t suspend/resume properly (even Microsoft screws this up).  So I use a distro that is easy to install and to get working.  Anyway, have fun and give it a try!

Why DO I Like the iPod

I remember some time ago the last time Adam Curry went on vacation, I made a post that I told everyone why I, a Linux user, like the iPod.  Well, let me count the ways:

1. It plays MP3’s (most Linux zealots call MP3 bad and AAC even worse)
2. It’s the interface stupid…(the iPod interface is often copied, but never quite the same way).
3. Software integration(The iPod is the only player that keeps track of what I listened to between syncs…I love this)

Frankly, nothing has topped the iPod in how it works with it’s software.  Also, there’s tons of acessories that I can get for it.  A geeks dream.  the ONLY way a MP3 player can beat a iPod is to find a way to get me to change software.  My idea would be the player would just act like a thumb drive.  The software could be written in Java.  This would make it much more portable and easier to go from Linux, to Windows and to the Mac.  If someone did this AND figured out how to play iTMS purchases ( I don’t care too much about DRM….yeah it sucks, but there’s not much that can be done that isn’t being done now…) .  Anyway, that’s it in a nutshell.  It just works really well for me and I love it.

Fiesty Fawn Install Awaits This Weekend

Fiesty Fawn is released finally and I am looking forward to using it.  I will likely install it sometime tomorrow after I have some time to backup some info.  One thing that I will do is try the upgrader first.  After that, I will reinstall automatix if it goes ok.  I do have the iso, so if all goes bad, I will have a backup so I can do a fresh install, if I must.

Next comes Gutsy Gibbon(Oct)!

Disable Google’s Web History…

Google has just did a very suspicious thing, but you can get rid of it.  It’s called Google Web History.  It can record where you are all over the web and it all happens when you have the Google Toolbar installed.  There’s a easy fix.  Go to http://www.google.com/history ok when you get there and login with your google account, click on keep track of web searches only.  Then you go to a page that has your search history.  Click clear all search history and it pauses your web search history.  It looks like, to me, that you can never resume the collecting of this data and it will never record a search again(well, as YOU anyway).

If your really really paranoid, then what are you doing on the web??

I’m Normal

For those who didn’t know, I was scheduled, and had my MRI Friday.  The MRI was to look at a suspected hemangioma on my liver.  A hemangioma is essentially a birthmark, but it’s on my liver.  It’s typically not cancerous and they typically will leave them on the liver if they are found.  They spotted this on my Ultrasound and wanted the MRI to confirm what it was or if it was an anomaly on the ultrasound.

Well, the  Doctor called yesterday, and the MRI came back normal so there’s nothing wrong with me at this point.

Now, the MRI was one of the most weird/interesting things  I have ever had to go through.   The machine they put me in was essentially 2 round slabs that had some substantial machinery connecting the two.  One slab was above me and the other is what I laid on.  They put me in there in scrubs (can’t have any metal on you or in the room) and I went in between the slabs.   Before each image, the tech asked me to take a deep breath, blow it all the way out and don’t breath!  By the time she told me to breath I was not feeling great.  I would finally feel better and it was time for the next pic.  Then it repeats.  After all the initial images were done, they had to inject intravenously some contrast that helped them see my liver better.  Then they did all the same images again with the contrast medicine coursing through my veins.  After an hour, I was done and onthe way out, they gave me a card for a free ice cream at Graters, which was right next door (I smell a HUGE racket!).  Anyway, the folks at Proscan Imaging did a great job to make sure I was comfortable even though they did mess my right arm up a little looking for a vein and eventually had to give the contrast to me in my hand (really weird, and a little painful, but doesn’t hurt once the IV is pulled out).  I highly recommend Proscan Imaging and if you have to get a MRI done and have a choice, they are the best in my opinion.

I have to say that a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulder. Anytime you have a spot on any body part, it’s NOT a good thing and you better get it checked out.  Granted, what they were trying to see is if I really did have a hemangioma which is benign, but it stil gives you the willies because what if the spot is there and it’s NOT a hemangioma??  Only one other thing and cancer sucks….no matter where you get it.

Taxes, Windows and Trying to Copy a PDF

Tonight is the inevitable night my wife tries to file our now due taxes online.  Boy was that a pain in the butt.   First off, it appeared the provider we chose was a bit overloaded.  Try explaining that to my impatient wife.  Second, we ran out of ink and had to print off the online filing form even though we’ve already paid the tax. That’s moronic.  Lastly, I figure out how to save the PDF to her hard disk and then I can copy it to a thumb drive because Mac OS X refuses to let Windows see my printer share in my office and I am too friggin lazy to do it now and it would all just take longer.  More time is what my impatient wife doesn’t need.  So, I plug my trusty thumb drive into her computer.  I see the drive letter, then windows explorer chokes…friggin great.  So I tell her finish it all and save all the forms and then reboot, then I’ll get it and that finally works.

I  know some of my friends will say why don’t you make her use Linux and blah blah blah, well, the reason I don’t is my wife would not stand for it.  She likes Windows and for her the stupid crap Microsoft puts a user through is acceptable.  I wish i could pound it into her thick skull that we, as computer users, should NEVER expect the crap that Microsoft puts them through.  Also, another reason she must use Windows is her work…all of the instructions are Windows centric and I don’t want to be her tech support when she can’t get connected to work (VPN connection and a terminal program called Outside View).  Anyway, I just wish more companies would stop treating Windows as the end all be all.  Even if they simply offered a Mac choice in addition to the Windows choice, then I could expunge Windows from my house (except the corporate required instance I must run for almost the same reason on my laptop).

Virginia Tech Using Podcast to Provide Info on Shootings? No.

Such a tragedy.  I hate to bust on the way it’s being handled, but I did see one error on their homepage, http://www.vt.edu . They call a MP3 download a podcast.  Yet again, some people do not get what podcasting is.  Podcasting is a multimedia file that is distributed via RSS feed.  That’s it.  A MP3 download is NOT a podcast.

With that said, my heart goes out to those involved with the shootings in Virginia.   May the Lord provide and comfort you in your time of need.

It’s ALIVE! It’s ALIVE!

YES!  I was able to bring the iPod back alive.  All of my stuff synced over and I was able to listen to a podcast on it.  Now, Apple….friggin fix the firmware!  A device should not loose it’s marbles like this.

MRI Today and a Resusitated iPod…crossing fingers

Hey everyone.  My MRI is in a few hours.  I am already into my fasting stage.  I am not allowed anything but water.  Oh well.  To top it all, I was watching a moive on my iPod and everything was working fine.  I did drift off to sleep and the iPod sort of lost it’s marbles.  I fiddled with it for a while and managed to get it in disk mode AND get it mounted on my Mac.  I restored to factory settings and it’s now syncing all of my stuff back over.  I know Patrick Davila from the tech show doesn’t like Apple anything and Dann’s not too keen on them anymore either, I love my iPods.  I have a first gen 1 Gig Shuffle and a 5th G (not the 5.5) Video iPod and this is the one that was acting kooky.  I hope that this restore fixes it.  I do not want to go without a iPod ever.  I’d even sell my Nokia 770 as I love the whole interaction that iTunes and the iPod has.  It works for me, and ultimately, this is why I got them.  I got to start saving up for a new one.  Thankfully it’s alot cheaper then when I got either iPod.

Some people…

I tell ya some people have nerve.  It’s trash day today in Columbus and in fact it’s probably already picked up.  Anyway, before I left Sunday the 1st, I put the trash by the curb so my wife did not have to and it sat there fine until yesterday according to the wife.  One bag fell out and around 8 at night, some ass hat knocked on the door and was telling my wife we were nasty people and more.  My wife told him get off the property or she’ll call police.  The guy never thought maybe she’s home and her husband did a nice thing by taking it out to the curb.  Anyway if I ever fine out who it is, the guy’s getting a flaming bag of poo on his porch.