Hollywood Movies and Linux

Ravi over at All About Linux has written an interesting article regarding the relationship between movie special effects and the use of Linux.

read more | digg story

Free Software Magazine

Just wanted to give my readers access to another great resource. Free Software Magazine provides news, reviews, and content, all about free and open source software. Click on the story link and check them out.

September 11th, In Remembrance

September 11th, 2001. I know exactly where I was and what I was doing. My wife was the Principal of an independent Christian Academy and had begun the school day. I was waiting to begin a new job the next week. I was running late to help my wife, as usual, and happened to be watching the CBS morning news show. They went to a shot of the towers and one was smoking. At the time no one knew if it was a fire or what. They started getting a call about a plane crashing into it. They speculated at first and said it was a small Cessna or something. Next, in a moment that I will never forget, they capture another plane strike the second tower. This time everyone knew it was intentional. Everyone was in shock. We watched the towers with flames and smoke. Horrible things were happening that no one could have imagined. We watched the towers fall and with them we lost some of the confidence we had as citizens. We had become invulnerable since the attack on Pearl Harbor, and no one could touch us on our own soil. We dismissed Oklahoma City and the 1st attack on the World Trade center as flukes. 5 years later, we have begun wavering in our belief that the War on Terror is necessary. Today we should pray for the survivors of 9/11, the leaders of our country, the men and women overseas putting their lives on the line, and for their families that are left behind hoping to see them again.

StarCraft+TouchScreen on Linux using WINE!!!

I'm not a big gamer, but I will always keep a special place on my desktop for StarCraft. It was my first RTS and the one I measure all others against. Playing StarCraft on Linux has been done. It's no major feat. Saying that, playing StarCraft on a touch screen in Linux is awesome! Please check out this video. I may never look at a mouse and keyboard the same way again.

read more | digg story

Is Ubuntu Linux for You, Too?

Just found this on digg's front page. I can't say this enough. I have found the right distribution. No one can beat Ubuntu for the average to advanced user. They even mention the wireless functions. I can't believe how easy it was to connect wirelessly to the internet.

read more | digg story

Best Ubuntu Guide Ever

Found this one over on digg.com. The guys over at Ubuntu have delevoped a great guide. This is great for anyone from beginner to advanced. I have one system that only runs Ubuntu. It's the only distribustion of Linux that has recognized my wireless usb drive. I'm really impressed with Ubuntu and will continue to learn about it with tools like this.

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Hack Attack: Top 10 Ubuntu apps and tweaks

I found this article on DIGG and was amazed by number 8. I used the terminal for the first time and was able to add the NTFS partition to the gnome desktop. This tip alone deserved a digg. I just switched to Ubuntu last week and I absolutely adore it. I still use Windows daily, but I look forward to Ubuntu when I get home in the evening.

read more | digg story

Jesus + Linux = Ubuntu Christian Edition?

"Ubuntu Christian Edition is a free, open source operating system geared towards Christians." Along with the standard Ubuntu applications, Ubuntu Christian Edition includes "Christian software" such as web filters and bible study programs. You can also find information about ICTHUX on their page. It is another great distro geared towards Christian Educators.

read more | digg story

Tux Magazine

Good afternoon, you have reached my blog. Today we will be espousing the love of a certain magazine that is currently free, but will soon charge their subscribers. You may be thinking to yourself, "Hey, self, this guy is about to get his mad on". You couldn't be further from the truth. I have been a subscriber of Tux Magazine for about a year and a half. They provide a wonderful magazine about the Linux desktop. It comes digitally about once a month. Tux is formatted beautifully. I can't say enough wonderful things about this mag. I just received an e-mail stating that soon they want to charge me for a years subscription. This will help with their cost. Usually this is the point where I will leave a subscription behind. Not this time, they are only charging $9.95 for a 12 issue subscription. That's awesome. I will subscribe as soon as they make the subscription service available. I do not mind supporting my brothers and sisters in the Linux community. Especially if they are asking for an amount that is so reasonable I can't turn it down. Thanks Tux, I can't wait for another fun filled year of desktop reviews, previews, and tips.

E3 or "How I learned to love the Wii."

I cannot believe another E3 has come and gone. Thousands of people lined up to see new hardware and software for the next year. All the booths filled with eager buyers waiting to catch a glimpse of the next big thing. [Insert sound of record needle being yanked across vinyl] Picture Ninentdo's booth filled. Everyone else was begging for attention. Nintendo stole the show. The new console the Nintendo Wii (pronounced Weeee) was the darling of the show. And is the system was the darling, the controller was the cherry on top. Sony has a system, the PS3, that's going to be too expensive. The Xbox 360 is already a has been after their debut last fall. The Nintendo Wii brings us a new concept in gaming. They have found a way to bring us into the game. The controller is tracked flawlessly in the game. This means we control the game completely. They didn't need a $1000 virtual reality helmet or Blue Ray compatibility. They created a stick with buttons and a speaker. When you were a kid, pretending to be Robin Hood, Luke Skywalker, or even Indiana Jones, a stick could be your best friend. It was your gun, lightsabre, bow and arrows, knife, flight stick, hammer, sword, nung-chucks. Anything your imagination could come up with. Nintendo has reinvented the wheel, at least in the sense of video gaming.

I missed you

Hello everyone. It's been almost nine months since my last post. I'm still here. Things became really hectic at work. I wrote an article last year about something I saw on a classified ad. I was reading the classifieds because I thought I would not have a job much longer. God really prevailed. I was supposed to lose my job in June of last year, but here I am, with a promotion to boot. Doesn't He know how to work things out? Hopefully you'll see articles with my usual flair attached to them. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I hope you like my new musings and have a blessed day.

ROFL, Linux is WGA certified!!!!!!!!! HA HA HA!

This is the most awsome piece of news, besides Discovery's safe return, i've seen all week. Log into microsoft.com and download any updates you need. Beware ,Mr. Bill, Open Source is on it's way.

OpenSuSE! Novell to give us Fedora equal.

Novell is launching a new community based distro of SuSE. They are hoping to explore the success Red Hat has achieved with its community-based distro, Fedora.

UPDATE: I've downloaded the 5-disk install for OpenSuse 10.1. Unfortunately I could not install it. I received an error installing some Perl module on the 1st disk that ends the entire install process. I'll let you know what happens when I try it again.

Tech support? Maybe "Back Support"!

Keep in mind this is in the physical qualifications section for a technical support job:

Certificates/Licenses -Physical Job Requirements - Most of the time is spent sitting in a comfortable position and there is frequent opportunity to move about. On rare occasions there may be a need to move or lift light articles. Examples include executive assistant, bank loan officer, and acctg clerk

-I don't think I can pick up a bank loan officer.

Hat's off to mourn the passing of OS/2

20 Years ago IBM launched OS/2 Warp. They had a decent advertising campaign. There were even TV ads. Unfortunately a little company called Microsoft had managed to get it's revolutionary Windows 95 software into almost every PC in the market. This left IBM out in the cold trying to convince everyone that you needed to go to the store and purchase a copy to replace and/or sit alongside Win 95. Besides Mac this was the best alternative to Windows the end-user could afford. Truly OS/2 offered a great alternative. Most Dos and Windows 3.1 software would operate on it. Now IBM is recommending Linux. So long OS/2. Full ahead, Warp factor 2, into oblivion.

Shuttle Launch Scrubbed?

1:32 p.m. - Launch Director Mike Leinbach has scrubbed the launch for today. One of four low-level fuel cutoff sensors is not functioning properly.
Safety first!

Granny Picks Linux Over Windows, OS/X, FreeBSD...

"It shocked me so much that I had to sit down right there on the floor of the lobby. Susie, such a sweet looking young gal, seemed so upset. She apologized and helped me up and then went back to working. As Jason held my arm keeping me steady, dear little Susie yelped again. This time I was thankfully holding on to the front desk and Jason had my arm."
"I looked up at Jason who was still holding my arm, and he softly said, 'Windows, mom.' Now I finally understood why this sweet young gal suffered so. I opened my purse and handed little Susie, my goodness how thin and pale she looked, a Knoppix Live Linux CD. 'Here you are honey. This will help cheer you up.'"
... I saw this at Really Linux and thought I'd share it.

SUSE 9.3 makes an impression.

I happened along this article during my morning routine. It seems Suse 9.3 has taken Linux and made it a force to be reckoned with. Watch out Windows. You now have competition. Now, I say this with the knowledge that Novell has in no way even begun to market this as a viable alternative. Until a company steps up and takes the risk of saying, "Hey! Stop giving Bill Gates all that money. We have a wonderful solution for you. It's LINUX! And it works." Oh well. At least those in the know can enjoy the wonderful work that is SUSE 9.3.

Free Computer Checkup

Have you ever had the nagging suspicion that something was wrong with your computer? Me too, but not the computer you were thinking of. I was standing around this Saturday and just chewing the fat with a local. His car's check engine light came on and he took it to AutoZone. They checked it for FREE. I know this blog is supposed to be PC related, but your car has a CPU and it may need to be checked. Just an example of free information passed on by another Linux Gnubie:)

How To: Networking Fedora and Windows

I am building a new Linux box and have a beautifully burned copy of Fedora 2 ready for it. I also want to be able to share files and other information with my Windows box. After perusing my morning newsfeeds I came across this one at PC Linux Online. I have only scratched the surface with Samba, but have found it to be very useful in Windows. God Bless FOSS (Free Open Source Software). This basic step by step guide even includes some basic troubleshooting if you get into trouble. I hope this helps you as much as it did me. Enjoy!