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!

London, Our prayers are with you.

United States on heightened alert due to today's bombings in London. Tony Blair is on his way back from the G-8 summit to help his countrymen deal with this heinous and cowardly attack. We will keep the citizens of London in our hearts and minds in the days to come.

What would you pay for a full suite of design software? How about nothing.

I was listening to my favorite weekend radio show when I heard Kim Komando mention my favorite words "free software". She directed the caller to freeserifsoftware.com. I am currently in the process of downloading the various software packages they offer. They offer software that will do everything from Desktop Publishing, Web deign, and even 3D Modeling. There are 5 packages in all. I plan on putting this software through its paces over the next few weeks and I will let you know what I think. Also let me know how you like it. I also highly recommend checking out Kim's site. It's full of family friendly computer tips and tricks. You can also find out when her radio show is on in your area.

Mark helps us recover from the Gnubie Blues

I happened to be perusing PC Linux Online and I found this article. Mark Rais, who is known for his Windows to Linux attitude in his book Linux for the Rest of Us. The article gives some great advice on how to perform activities in Linux that we would do everyday in Windows. It's a great start for all the Gnubies out there.

Why Pink? It doesn't match my shoes.

Now before you start flooding the comments with "I thought this was supposed to be a blog related to linux, new tech, or windows...". Keep in mind I must be able to rant. It's a requirement. I just have one question for women's clothing stores. Why, I repeat, Why must you use feminine colors and designs on your shopping bags. One of my wife's favorite activities is to go shopping for clothes and not try them on in the store. While this allows me to get in and out of a store quickly, it means she has more than her share of returns. Frequently I am required, by chivalrous decree, to make a round of returns for my wife. I actually don't mind making the returns. She usually gives me a percentage of the refund. It's a nice perk. However making the return requires that I walk into a women's clothing store with a pick bag with fancy writing that states I am in know way the person to whom these clothes were bought for. Why can't they use colors that are a little more masculine, maybe a nice mud-brown with hunter-green print. I submit this is worse than the "hold my purse" phenomenon. I know there are other guys that have to face this. I see them in the mall. They tend to walk quickly towards their intended target and never look at the effeminate bag they are holding. You will find them admiring the window mannequins in some obscure leather dealer before they dare look at the (insert women's store name here) shopping bag. Thanks for your support.

Ride the Shuttle for FREE!

Hi my name is Thomas, and I am an Orbiter junkie. I am looking for a 12-step program to help me overcome my incessant desire to launch the space shuttle and ride it like a rocket jockey into orbit. A few weeks ago I was looking for a free alternative for MS Flight Sim. Luckily I stumbled upon Orbiter. The basic program interface is not fancy, but perfect to get right into the cockpit. There is also an active community that is constantly developing add-ons for this amazing program.

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by. Welcome to my new blog. I plan on focusing on Linux and the general Open Source movement. I will also include information about Open Source software in Windows as well. I've called it Linux Gnubie (pronounced "newbie") because I have only been running a Linux box for a few short years. While i've learned a lot in that time I still have a long ways to go. With your help I may even become somewhat knowledgeable when all is said and done.
Thanks,
Thomas:)