If you have followed tech news closely at all within the last ten years, you’ve probably heard the phrase year of the Linux desktop before. This is the year that Linux makes a breakthrough with home users, and suddenly Microsoft’s dominant market share comes toppling down. I believe people have been proclaiming various years as… Continue reading The writers who cried YOTLD
Category: Computers
My online alter ego
Most people who know me in person (what some people refer to as “in real life”) don’t know that I have an online alter ego. Participating in a social networking site like Facebook does not mean you have an online alter ego (unless the people you are “friends” with are people you’ve never met in… Continue reading My online alter ego
Linux for home users – stop the hype!
I’m an open source advocate who has been using Ubuntu for the past three years and just bought my first Linux-preinstalled computer (with Xandros instead of Ubuntu, but that’s okay), but I hate it when people hype up Linux to Windows users. I’m not talking about Linux for embedded devices or Linux for web servers.… Continue reading Linux for home users – stop the hype!
I love my web host
Taking a break from the Eee love to give some love to ICDSoft. Even though there are web hosts out there who appear to give better deals (“unlimited bandwidth,” for example), I’ve found ICDSoft an absolute pleasure to work with over the years. The uptime is almost 100%, the customer service is friendly and prompt… Continue reading I love my web host
Welcome to the Eee: My computer just got downsized
Since the Linux model isn’t sold in stores, and the Windows model is supposed to arrive about now but reports are mixed about its actual availability at Best Buy (brick and mortar, anyway), I’m starting up a little section here devoted especially to the Eee, because I feel this is where computers are headed. If… Continue reading Welcome to the Eee: My computer just got downsized
The truth about open source and piracy
There are a lot of stereotypes about Linux users as socially awkward too-long-bearded 30-somethings living in their parents’ basements hacking illegally into government servers and indulging in “free” software that’s really pirated software. After all, isn’t that why Linux users use filesharing programs like Frostwire or visit sites like PirateBay? The truth is that many… Continue reading The truth about open source and piracy
What do grocery stores and operating systems have in common?
Who would have ever thought I’d be comparing Trader Joe’s to Ubuntu? Well, in recent years, a lot of the grocery stores in our neighborhood have been closing down, so Trader Joe’s is one of the few still around. When my wife and I started shopping there originally, we made a regular habit of shopping… Continue reading What do grocery stores and operating systems have in common?
Without education, it doesn’t matter which OS is “more secure”
In Linux online communities, oftentimes there are debates about which operating is the most secure—Windows or a Linux-based distribution. The debates usually go something like this: Do I have to worry about security in Linux the way I did in Windows? No, you don’t have to. Linux is much more secure. But isn’t that just… Continue reading Without education, it doesn’t matter which OS is “more secure”
Cowon iAudio 7 Review (Ubuntu perspective)
A little backstory Last week, my 256 MB Sandisk player died. I really liked that player. It was ugly, and it didn’t support free formats, but it was functional and small. So I did quite a bit of online research on a replacement player. There were a few things I was looking for in a… Continue reading Cowon iAudio 7 Review (Ubuntu perspective)
File Recovery Fun
She thought she was doing everything right. She wanted to departition her computer and reinstall Windows. So she backed up all her files to an external hard drive, deleted all the partitions and reformatted as NTFS, then reinstalled Windows. She didn’t remember she still had her backup drive still plugged in, though, when she was… Continue reading File Recovery Fun