tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75887985949212364432024-03-12T23:10:42.097-04:00Unix And BeyondWe're Back In Black... and Yellow =-)kdb424http://www.blogger.com/profile/09715687194854282214noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-4455754274141614072013-09-01T08:24:00.003-04:002013-09-01T08:24:51.771-04:00Computer Security: What basics should I know?All of you reading this right now are using a computer. Weather it be an iPhone, Android, PC, Mac, basically any way you could be reading this, you are using a computer with an internet connection. You have left the safety of your own computer, and connected into the wild, where you can connect to anyone, and anyone can connect to you. You have credit card information on your computer, or at least type it occasionally, enter social security numbers, and just generally enjoy using your device.<br /><br />But there are things out there to protect you, right? Routers, and Operating manufactures such as Microsoft and Apple, other companies all try to do their best. Hackers target these systems knowing their limitations though, so it's not safe to just trust them. It's not their fault that they are up against an entire world of hackers that want to break into their products that you own. If you want what someone has, they eventually will get it.<br />
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What you can do however is minimize the damage that they can do. There are other products that you can buy, or get for free. More money doesn't always mean better though, but sometimes a paid product can be worth it. Antivirus is good mostly for stopping minor hackers, also known as "Script Kiddies". These are low level hackers that generally don't know how the hacks work, but leach off others works and use them until the attached programs are patched, and render the known attacks useless. There are however better hackers that break through new patches and programs. These types of hackers are much fewer, so if you protect yourself from script kiddies, you are safe from a lot of attacks.<br />
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The first thing you should grab is a manual virus scanner. There are plenty of automatic ones, though if you follow the next step, They shouldn't be forgotten all together as viruses can do more than just send your information to other servers, and even if they do, they can't always be stopped from making it back, so a virus scanner is still helpful. Take your pick, or find the best from virus scan sites like virustotal.<br />
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The other place that you can gain security is a firewall. Most viruses goals is to steal your information (keypresses, other recorded information, ect). They need to make a connection, in (or out from the virus to them),and a firewall can stop most things. Firewalls can be set up to block known bad things, or even better, block everything except known trusted programs. This is a good way to make sure that no program can make a connection in, or call home unless you allow it. It can however be a pain to set up all of the programs on your system, though this is the most secure method when mixed with an anti virus.<br />
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I'll post more details on setting things up later, but this is a general overview of protecting yourself when connected to the internet.kdb424http://www.blogger.com/profile/09715687194854282214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-39780169042115819372013-02-21T20:54:00.001-05:002013-02-21T20:56:15.909-05:00UbuntuOS and PortingSo, UbuntuOS is out. What's that? Well, basically it's an operating system for your phone or tablet (or computer, but that's a different version that I'm not getting into right now). In the same way that you may have an iPhone, Android or Windows phone, Ubuntu is the same type of thing. If that doesn't make sense, or you want more information about that specifically, refer to this link: <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone">http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone</a><br />
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Today Thursday Feb 21, 2012 UbuntuOS went live online to developers to a range of devices. The lest of officially supported devices currently is:<br />
<br />
* Nexus 7<br />
* Nexus 10<br />
* Nexus 4<br />
* Galaxy Nexus (GSM)<br />
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You may or may not notice that the Verizen and Sprint versions are not on that list. They are CDMA, and therefor incompatable. So, since I had the verizon version, I had to tear into it. After opening finding a guide to install the phone unofficially on the GSM version, I noticed that it was a lot like android. Stort version is "Factory reset, and flash in recovery mode" just like if you want to revert your phone to stock or if you break it and need to repair it. Can't be that much different right?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ompldr.org/vaGpsYg/IMG_20130221_131155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ompldr.org/vaGpsYg/IMG_20130221_131155.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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Well luckly, I was very right. The install process was exactly the same as android, all the way down to some android files. In fact, I only ended up having to change one word in one file in order to make it work (mostly, details later). It mas designed for the "maurgo" which is the GSM version, and my recovery failed to install as it thought that I was trying to use the wrong version on my phone. Well, I was, but I don't care, so I changed that. Low and behold, after changing it to "toro" (codename for Verizon Galaxy Nexus), it installed just fine, and booted right up. Everything but calls and text messaging worked the same as the GSM version (no dana for either model at the moment). I ended up posting that to the net, and someone asked me for a Sprint (toroplus) version. So modifgied the same line to "toroplus" and it worked the same too.<br />
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In the case that you have one of these phones, and want to try it out, I have the links below. Let me note, these do NOT do much, and do not make calls or send text messages. There is a limited experience even though wifi works fine. These are intended to preview only, and let developers work on apps for the final release. That's it.<br />
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Verizon version<br />
<a href="http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2159515">[ROM] Ubuntu Developer Preview (Toro port)</a><br />
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Sprint Version<br />
<a href="http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2159832">[ROM] Ubuntu Developer Preview (Toroplus port)</a><br />
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GSM version<br />
Unofficial:<br />
<a href="http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=38285911#post38285911">http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...1#post38285911</a><br />
Official:<br />
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/Install<br />
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Have fun, don't complain when things go wrong (at lesat not here, that's why there are forum threads) and most importantly I'm a nerd, and proud.kdb424http://www.blogger.com/profile/09715687194854282214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-36868937602148146712013-02-21T20:29:00.000-05:002013-02-21T20:29:09.046-05:00Back From the GraveWell, it seems that I've gotten to the point where I'm doing so much in the technology world that I have annoyed my friends. Naturally, that means that I should go back to blogging, where people expect me ta rant. I'm sure it'll be along the same guidelines. I am always getting into some technology, and when my less tech inclined friends ask me what I'm up to, I can point them here and only explain once. On that note, re-introduction over. UbuntuOS just got released today, and I have to maintain my porting threads on XDA. More soon.kdb424http://www.blogger.com/profile/09715687194854282214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-23125055535839416122010-02-18T17:04:00.001-05:002010-02-18T17:04:03.989-05:00Testing Out Mail2Post!Hi blog users, I'm testing out a new way (for this site) of blogging, thanks to Blogger!<br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Joshua Klar - Linux And Beyond Admin (<a href="http://mrroboto.dyndns.org:8080">http://mrroboto.dyndns.org:8080</a>)<br> JoshuaK24http://www.blogger.com/profile/16289876322668157013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-63731688468530096062009-05-25T13:54:00.005-04:002009-06-25T18:45:17.855-04:00Frets on Fire - Guitar Hero's Little SisterEver gotten SICK of paying 50-60 bucks for EVERY Guitar Hero / Rock Band game or Downloadable that comes out? I have an answer! It is the second best thing to having GH/RB themselves, but it has its high share of faults. Its name? Frets On Fire. This is a short post as I have little time to worry about working on this post but it will cover the main points of the game.<br /><br />In short, the game is written in Python 2.4. The original game was created by Unreal Voodoo and was modded several, several times to get to the main version we have now, Frets On Fire X or just FoFix. It (FoFix) can be themed to look like Guitar Hero, Rock Band or any theme availible. Animated Stages like in GH/RB are avalible but usually not per-song, and not even used much for a global setting. Otherwise, it just shows an image or a blank color. It supports Guitar, Bass, Drums and any song you want, and if it is not already made for the game you can request it or make it yourself. The latest Beta version, 3.120 I believe, supports characters (Like Home, Guest etc) with different settings and avatars and different controller settings for different instruments. Want FoFix? Go to http://code.google.com/p/fofix/ Want songs? Go to www.fretsonfire.net, register an account and go to Tune Posting. Other than that... comment if you need help, as I'll respond (or someone else will). Enjoy and go burn some frets!JoshuaK24http://www.blogger.com/profile/16289876322668157013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-53309839723200178002009-02-27T16:17:00.004-05:002009-06-25T20:19:52.076-04:00Linux Mint Felicia - A ReviewI like distro hopping... can you tell? I've used about 12 distributions (each installed multiple versions and times...) in the 9 months since I've built this computer, and I dont think I'll be moving from Debian based distros... they're too good =).<br /><br />Anyway, back to work. Today I am reviewing Linux Mint 6 "Felicia", a Ubuntu derivative.The version I happen to be reviewing is the Gnome 2.24 version as at the time of installation, the KDE version was not "stable". Ah well...<br /><br /><br />Mint is known for a couple of things - its great multimedia support, with codecs included out of the box, and its mintTools. The mintTools group includes<br /><ul><li>mintInstall, to install programs (Ubuntu equiv: Add/Remove Programs)</li><li>mintAssistant, to set up root password and quotes (Ubuntu equiv: ???)<br /></li><li>mintBackup (Ubuntu equiv: sBackup, still my pref)</li><li>mintNanny (Ubuntu equiv: ???)<br /></li><li>mintUpdate (Ubuntu equiv: Update Manager)</li></ul> mintInstall I don't exactly like. It only installs from the Software Portal, therefore is limited in what it can install. It has the same problem Fedora 9's PackageKit had at launch- you pick one, click install, pick another, blah blah blah. It would be nice to pick all you want to install THEN install, like in Add/Remove Programs.<br /><br />mintAssistant I dont really have a review on, just answer the questions and go.<br /><br />I have not tested mintBackup, only sBackup<br /><br />mintNanny is simple. It adds an entry in /etc/hosts to report the domain as having an IP of 0.0.0.0 or something. I only tested it once and it works great, though if the site uses www. or anything other than the main .com (or if org or net) you need to block those too. Also, block the sites IP address.<br /><br />mintUpdate is the only mint tool I use, except for the SuSE like mintMenu, which I will not review, look at linuxmint.com for that. mintUpdate is awesome because it tells the stability of the packages in color and number format. Other than that, Ubuntu Update Manager users will be familiar.<br /><br />Right off the bat, I feared the DHCP only bug in Ubuntu Intrepid. This would eliminate any hopes of Static IP after reboots. Luckily, that bug is not there =) Other bugs (not too many though as Mint mostly uses upstream packages) have been fixed, and all lives in peace.<br /><br />Out of the box, the codecs for a lot (read: enough to satisfy most people) of formats are included, and DVD's supposedly play out of the box. I'll be testing that soon with my Talledega Nights DVD, once I close up the Virtual Machine for Kubuntu Jaunty Alpha (which I'll be reviewing later...).<br /><br />So basically, if you are a multi-media freak (or addict) go for it. Look for more info on www.linuxmint.com<br /><br /><br />Have any suggestions on posts to make? email me at joshuaklar24 PLUS uab AT gmail DOT comJoshuaK24http://www.blogger.com/profile/16289876322668157013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-78575429249614827042009-02-18T19:02:00.004-05:002009-02-20T21:02:25.974-05:00FreeBSD 7.1 - A ReviewToday I installed FreeBSD 7.1 on a Ultra Sparc 5 box, and decided to review it so the blog doesnt look so blank. The Sparc release doesnt get the snazzy boot loader or nothing, but is secure and stable as a rock, when configured right. Using pkg_add things go nicely. It happens to be just like urpmi or apt-get, just a tad more advanced. If you use Solaris (not openSolaris) then this should be a breeze for you. pkg_add -r kde and DING DING DING dinners ready :) .<br /><br />The installer is pretty straight-forward, but I am not able to get screenshots, sorry. Its a text installer, and a CRT monitor, so screenies are about impossible. But, I used the boot-only disc, set up partitions, the network (static ip, here) and what packages I wanted installed, and it did its thing for about 15 or 20 minutes, while I made the floor vibrate thanks to the mp3's I had playing on my Kubuntu 8.04 LTS desktop with my subwoofer and Altec Lansing speakers. :) If you install the Xorg-KernDev group like I did the total install is about 45 mins or so, like Linux. No bigee.<br /><br />The bigee comes when you dont know what groups to add your user to and then when you do su - in bsd it flunks out. >:( Solve: Add your user(s) to the wheel group. Either through install OR through the PW command (see FreeBSD Handbook).<br /><br />And I have no clue WHAT happened here, but something screwed my /boot directory so I had to reinstall the dang thing. I think it may just be the computer I installed it on, because its power has been snippy for a while now. But now it flickers a lot. Whatever. X11 works, once installed, but I could not login so somewhere its those dag-nabbit groups again to let me login through X.<br /><br />None the less, it is pretty stable if you have a stable computer, and overall I give it about a 5.7/10. I'll probably still be stickin with Ubuntu and Arch Linux =).JoshuaK24http://www.blogger.com/profile/16289876322668157013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-40100225165360111922008-12-08T00:31:00.002-05:002008-12-08T00:38:44.227-05:00The ultimate multiple computer tool!Synergy is now, as far as I am concerned, the BEST tool for anyone with multiple computers on one desktop. It is multi-platform, open-source, and free. How can any Linux user pass that up? Well, I don't know. I'm using it on my Macbook Pro and my Windows XP desktop as I type this. It allows you to easily set up multiple computers to use one keyboard and mouse to control both (or more) computers. It just sets up computers set up in a, right left, up, and down position and has the mouse jump between the screens with ease, and the keyboard will follow. As I type this on my Mac (server in my case), I am playing Roller Coaster Tycoon(tm), on my PC (client), and using only this keyboard and trackpad. It's a deffinate download in my book. Check it out right here! http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/ Hosted on sourceforge just like many other great open source programs. Have fun, and be sure to post your results!kdb424http://www.blogger.com/profile/09715687194854282214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-67041405049357202732008-11-07T13:11:00.013-05:002009-06-25T19:01:51.116-04:00Proprietary Software vs Free Open Source Software<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Well, a popular thing for people not using Linux is that their proprietary software does not work on Linux. Boo-Hoo. Cry me a river, build a bridge and GET OVER IT. People do not seem to trust free software because they determine it to not be as good as their Proprietary software from Windows/Mac. I am now making a list of proprietary software and its F/OSS equivalents.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">1. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Adobe Photoshop</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> A F/OSS program that is almost as good as Photoshop is called The Gimp. (see p</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">ic</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">ture at right) It does a lot and even opens *.psd files with no more than the package "gimp" installed. Sweet. This is free, open source software that is just as good as Photoshop, so no excuses here.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">----------</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Price: Free | Windows: Yes | Mac: Yes | Linux: Yes<br /><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">2. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">mIrc</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> I in fact used to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">have this on my Windows drive till it got to be a pain in the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">butt and i gave up on </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">it. A F/OSS </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">solution to this is Konversation, a KDE / QT app designed to be user friendly but still get the job done </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">well. Quit</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">e frankly, I have a good time with Pidgin, that supports IRC quite well, but if I specifically need an <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">IRC</span> client and not a multi-protocol client I use xchat-gnome from the Ubuntu repositories. It works nicely and blends in better with the Gnome Desktop </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Environment.<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Xchat - Price: Free, on Linux / Mac. $29.99 for Windows | Windows: Yes | Mac: Yes, source or Xchat-Aqua</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">3. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Internet Explorer</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> I used this for a while, but then moved to the Open</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> Source project Firefox Web Browser made by Mozilla. Firefox has a clean interface and, with Firefox 3, desktop integration. Firefox uses the G</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">ecko rendering engine to render webpages which works better than Microsoft's <span style="font-style: italic;">Trident</span> engine, yet not quite as good, IMO, as WebKit (or KHTML, a fork of WebKit, more on this in a later post). Its shows text and graphics the way they</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> are supposed to be shown. They offer versions for Windows, Mac, Linux and in the developers section the source code that, as long as your computer meets the requirements and dependencies are met, can probably be compiled on any Operating System. Used to Safari Web Browser? No Problem. Firefox 3 for Mac looks quite similar to Safari, and the Fission extension moves the progress bar to the address bar, just like Safari. There are extensions that make favicons hide in the bookmarks bar. Want a Vista-styled theme? Knock yourself out with the Strata theme - on XP this looks quite better than the green and on blue-themed Linuxes it looks really nice. Which brings us to Linuxes. There has been quite a dis-agreement on this. Some people had a disagreement on the theming</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> of Firefox 3 for Linux. On a blog speaking of the theming the blogger only spoke of Windows and Macintosh theming - none to speak of Linux, till he made a correction apolagizing to the several commenters griping at Mozilla for "marching to the beat of Bill Gate's drum" (from a Google Groups post, but is appropriate for this situation) and only mentioning proprietary software. In his correction, he mentioned that Firefox 3 for Linux would follow your GTK+ style (ie Human icon theme would also be implemented into Firefox without the Add-Ons Pack from Ubuntu) and basically focus on blending with your GNOME desktop. In KDE on *.deb distros it looks ugly, but *.rpm distros show GTK+ natively so it's all good :)<br /><br />Price: Free | Windows: Yes | Mac: Yes | Linux: Yes<br /><br />4. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Microsoft Office</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><br />Last on the list of Proprietary Software I would like to introduce you to Microsoft Office, to be replaced with Open Office (OK, maybe not in your world, but definitely in mine :P ) hopefully sooner than la</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">ter in the techno world. Unless you are totally anti-Microsoft and pass out if you see their obnoxious Windows flag, you have probably used Microsoft Office. It is one of the most top-selling software for computers in existence today. It is made for Windows, and usually for Mac about a year later. But </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">oh god no, don't make it for the Linux OS.... that would be a sin for Microsoft. This is where open source prevails. Open Office is available for Linux, Solaris, Windows and Mac, and is Open Source. It has most features of Microsoft Office and can usually suffice for common tasks. Do you not need a full suite? Abiword word processor or Gnumeric spreadsheet should do the job. Enjoy.<br /><br />OpenOffice - Price: Free | Windows: Yes | Mac: Yes | Linux: Yes<br /><br /><br />I may add to this list based on user comments so please comment so I know what to add! :P<br /></span></div></div></div>JoshuaK24http://www.blogger.com/profile/16289876322668157013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-41435815932869034432008-11-04T15:20:00.005-05:002008-11-30T20:36:33.224-05:00Wireless - Windows vs LinuxPlain and simple - when it comes to wireless, Linux ROCKS!!! Here's a brief comparison.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Windows</span> (testing done on XP / Vista)<br />------------------------------<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blufiles.storage.msn.com/y1pwsxRF-bupXwTC5ZsavWnJI_pafmPbzifUcGYDZa0PzHSkPfnkzIuVZQtDcEHx5DIldy_t-XzU-4?PARTNER=WRITER"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 189px;" src="http://blufiles.storage.msn.com/y1pwsxRF-bupXwTC5ZsavWnJI_pafmPbzifUcGYDZa0PzHSkPfnkzIuVZQtDcEHx5DIldy_t-XzU-4?PARTNER=WRITER" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Dumb. Plain and simple. Ever use a wireless laptop or desktop and use windows with a USB wi-fi card that Winblows wont connect with without a driver? If so you know exactly what I am talking about. If not, then you're lucky. Mine is a Trendnet TEW 429-UB-A that is ZD1211 firmware. And guess what? I had to install the driver for it to work. Before I figured that out though, I also installed the client utility and it wont uninstall... >:( so now I must have <span style="font-style: italic;">both</span> up for Wi-Fi to work. Why wont it work? I'll tell you why. My network is WPA secured. Alright, I eventually got it to work. But it wouldn't go down without a fight. Stupid.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Linux</span> (testing done on multiple distros, screen shot from Fedora 8 if I'm not mistaken)<br />------------------------------<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.linuxscrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/networkmanager.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 220px;" src="http://www.linuxscrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/networkmanager.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Pretty good, actually. Drivers are almost not heard of here, as they <span style="font-style: italic;">should</span> work automatically on most distros, especially those using NetworkManager or its front ends. My wireless works nice. WPA is supported through a package called wpa_supplicant and it works, usually. Fedora 9 had a WPA update that broke my system, and I tried many times to be sure, then installed Ubuntu. I tried F10's Alpha, no luck. Beta, fastest WPA connecting speed I've ever seen in my life. And Preview has a Initramfs error, so I'm re-downloading just to be safe. Went down and up without blinking. Perfection. Even Mandriva uses Mandriva Control Center to control wireless. And everything lives in harmony. Wonderful.<br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Support the Penguin - Use Linux</span>JoshuaK24http://www.blogger.com/profile/16289876322668157013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-23851106710231875042008-10-15T12:50:00.001-04:002008-10-15T12:50:52.223-04:00iPod TouchIt's finally time for my iPod touch review. I couldn't find the time that I wasn't playing on it to review. Well I'm still on it typing this. I was always one to look for only free software on computers. Well at first I was the same on my iPod. I can say that the money spent was well spent. I now have two games, Spore and a crash racing game that I JUST downloaded an am wanting to play. I can say that Spore was 100% worth it. I am not done with it yet but I would have to say it's worth the money. There were some things that I had to get like an IM, IRC, and SSH. I had to need things all upercase. LOL. But really the IM was free and the other two were under $5 for both. As my Mac is in the shop this makes a very good replacement. There is nothing that I am missing that I can think of. I'll do a follow up review later but as of now this is the best. kdb424http://www.blogger.com/profile/09715687194854282214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-54298754497904702602008-10-13T19:18:00.002-04:002008-12-05T13:20:41.291-05:00Ubuntu ServerI'm being lazy and putting off the iPod review even though I'm typing this on it too. Today it's all about Ubuntu server edition. I am by no means a Linux guru at all. I'm actually not even great at using everything that it offers. I can tell you that Ubuntu is worth giving a try even for people that never used Linux before. Server edition is a bit harder but by no means dificult for most people. It's been running fir a while and still VERY relyable. I use it mostly for file storage because it is fast to get the files even on an old pos computer. It runs all command line so it's very easy to remit manage with SSH on a Mac, Linux PC, Windows with some open source software or even an iPod touch! If you have any old computer lying around and an Ethernet cable and a power plug you can have your own server up and running in less than an hour. You will need a keyboard and monitor for initial setup but after that it can hide anywhere and work great with only two cables in it. Learn a few simple things like apt-get, sudo and you can pretty much get going. It's not really a toy if you want it to keep running because once setup is done there is very few reasons to go back in other than monitoring disk space and such. It makes a good server for mail, FTP, samba, proxy and much more. I would give it a look if you can fin any computer that you don't use. You might a well get some more use with what you paid for and with free software it Makes it even easier. http://www.ubuntu.com/ Are you there yet? No cd burner you say? They ship free CDs. 64 bit PC that you want to use? They have a version for you too. Now get there. Really...<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Edit by JoshuaK: Versions of Ubuntu Server are usually available soon after a main release for SPARC, PPC, PlayStation 3 and HP PA-RISC architectures at this address.</div><div><a href="http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/">http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/</a></div>kdb424http://www.blogger.com/profile/09715687194854282214noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-80513209447369978142008-10-10T21:33:00.002-04:002008-10-10T21:49:04.358-04:00Mac keyboard!Today I am going to post about something different. Bear with me as I am still getting used to typing on my iPod touch so I may make mistakes. I will most likely do a review on this later. My quick review would say get one now though. Onto the mac keyboard! As I was shopping at a local Best Buy I found that there was an open box Apple keyboard so I saw $10 off and had to get it. It's quite amazing. I have had it for less than a day and I am already loving it. There are two (non-powered) USB ports on the sides for mice or flash drives. Hey are great for everything but plugging my iPod touch in to charge. Oh well I have a wall charger. It's a lot more keys than a standard keyboard too. It has upto F19. It's Apple. What do you expect? It's nice having a numberpad sence I am usually on a a Macbook Pro. It's currently in my Ubuntu server as it looks nice sitting there in a pc case next to the monitor. It works for ubuntu plug and play too. No complaints there. It would not be a gamers first choice but works gear for all OS's not just macs. It you like a good looking keyboard go check one out. It's east on my eyes and makes even my old computer turned Ubuntu server look nice even. And it's on an old CRT monitor. If out have any questions or have something that you want me to blog about or review let me know at kdb424@gmail.com!kdb424http://www.blogger.com/profile/09715687194854282214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-73109458216307793882008-08-30T20:34:00.003-04:002008-08-30T20:54:23.309-04:00Psystar Counteruses Apple!I don't know how many of you know about the open computer company Psystar. They are a company that sells "Open Computers". They claim to be able to install Operating systems from Windows, to Linux, to even MAC! This apple un-licensed computer has really been sturing up the mac communities. The Mac fanboys are mad I'm sure, the OSx86 project websites are worrying about being shut down, and the Psystar customers that have Mac on their computers are very concened.<br /><br /> On Apple's side, they say that Psystar broke the "End User License Agreement" (EULA), which is true. Apple's EULA states that Mac can only be installed and used on "Apple Labled Computers" which makes people wonder if throwing an apple sticker on their system will make it legal. Asside from that, Psystar seems to know the legal system pretty well too. Psystar says that the ELUA is illegal from the start because it prevents competition, which it most certainly does. So where does this put us, and where do I personally stand on this topic?<br /><br /> I personally agree with both sides of the arguement. I own a Macbook Pro, and I love it. Apple's slogan is "It Just Works", which is very true. Mac and Apple hardware were designed for each other, unlike PC's and Windows, and Linux. This makes it harder to make it as stable as Mac on Apple computers because they know what they are working with 100%. As for me on Psystar's side, I also agree. I think that Apple should release Mac to PC's too leagally. I am not saying that they should make it for the x86 platform, or to even support it at all.<br /><br /> I do however want the ability for people to install Mac on unsupported systems and still be legal. That means no disk hacks. They must make their hardware support it by adding or emulating EFI. As long as people can do that, than it should be legal. This would be great for long time PC builders, people looking for a cheep Mac, or just a great learning experience. I don't think that this would be as big of a hit on Apple's sales as they would think.<br /><br /> Most people would be faithful to Apple enough to at least buy one system (with hardware and all) from them even if they wanted non-Apple hardware. Even with the OSx86 community, many of them have Apple hardware computers also. I personally would love to build a desktop and install mac legally on it. That's $130 USD that's Apple's that they wouldn't have because I can not afford the Apple desktop that I want.<br /><br /> If Psystar wins, Apple may get more buisness from me,because I love mac, I just can't afford the hardware. I would still buy Accessories from them, and of cource the OS. This is just my opinion on this. I think that Psystar has the win here, though I understand why Apple did it. You tell me what you think! Lets see how this plays out too. Maybe building a Mac will be a legal dream soon too.kdb424http://www.blogger.com/profile/09715687194854282214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-19777678422542938302008-08-26T13:13:00.002-04:002008-08-26T14:01:32.949-04:00Operating SystemsThere is a lot going on in the world of operating systems, and some of it is completely invisible. Everyday companies are choosing their operating system, but what does an OS do anyway?:<br /><br />What Is an OS?<br /><br />An OS controls the hardware, for the user, as simple as that, it is an interface layer. Operating system have come a long way since the creating of computers, and now the os is a huge part of how a computer runs, and acts.<br /><br />Which OS?<br /><br />This is not really a question I can really answer for you, as all Operating systems were made for different uses, for example, Windows started off for office use, and therefore came with many office related programs for use. Linux was started by programmers for programmers, and had (and still has) far more excellent utilities to program in. Mac was originaly made for Media creation, and therefore comes with many powerful media programs.<br /><br />Many people do not know the origins of an OS, and now, all oses can be used for the same kind of thing, for example, I can make documents easily in OpenOffice on my Linux machine, and I've never found it at all limiting, if I did a lot of office work, then I might need some of the more advanced features of Office, but as it is, I find no difference, and it doesn't limit me.<br /><br />I can create advanced images, and manipulate images using GIMP, as well as creating films in other Linux tools. If I was a professional photographer, I may be better off with a Mac, but as I am now, ocne again, I can use Linux.<br /><br />I program fairly regualy too, and in this time, I find that I have a huge range of tools available to me, and I now find it very hard to program on any other OS.<br /><br />The point is, that depending on your primary task, you need to look into your OS based on that, but only on a professional level, most users never use the advanced features of a program, and therefore the alternatives, which sometimes don't have those features are just as good.<br /><br />Features of an OS<br /><br />As we have already looked at, the heart of the operating system makes a large difference to its default programs, but OSes are now so much more advanced then that, that it is worth looking at what you can do with different OSes<br /><br />Linux<br /><br />Linux is well known for its speed, and customizability, it is also community led. The way linux works (and this is true for most Linux programs too) is very unique. The code is 'Open Source' this means that anyone can view it, but there is more to it then that, any one can take the code, AND FIX IT! This means that if someone has a problem on their machine, if they knew how, they could look at the code, find the fix, and release it, which would then appear in the updates, and then you would not find that bug. This means that popular programmers have the whole community worth of programmers behind it, so bugs are fixed fast, and anyone can do it.<br /><br />This also allows people to make new versions based on others with their system, for example, they could remake it with a different set of programs, and release that as their own, under their name, providing they release the source code, so others can then do the same. This makes for millions of different 'distributions' (version of linux) to choose from, meaning that whatever you want to do, it tends to have a whole distribution devouted to it.<br /><br />There is also a very unique package system to allow you to get the programs. The biggest two are YUM (used on Red hat distributions) and Apt (used on debian based distributions.) They allow you to get your programmers from a huge list of possible 'packages' It is an easy and effecent process, which allows you to get any program within seconds (no browser required!)<br /><br />Most Linux distributions are also available as 'Live Cds' which allows you to run the entire operating system straight off a CD. This is great for those who want it where ever they go, as well as being very useful for diagnostics.<br /><br />Mac<br /><br />Mac and Linux are similar in some ways, because they both share a similar base. This means that programs are often released for the two together. Mac is still a very different operating system however. Mac is also very fast, like linux, although it is not as customisable. The operating system is made for the machines, so Apple were able to fine tune things for the hardware. It is well known for being excellent for working with media, with it's powerful program base, as well as being fairly bug free.<br /><br />Windows<br /><br />Windows was designed for office use, as explained above. Microsoft do not share their code, and they have very little development code available, so all bugs must be fixed by Microsoft. It features a large list of programs that support it, although very few programs are installed by default.<br /><br />As you can see, all three are very different, and as already explained, and what you do very much chooses which OS you should use.<br /><br />What next?<br /><br />Well first, post a comment, and tell me what you think, then you need to consider one very important point: Are you using the right OS? If you don't use your computer for any professional task, then it might also be a good time to try some of the other OSes, and see whether they are better for your needs, just remember to keep your eyes open, and try new things, you'll never know how much better it could be if you don't try it!<br /><br />How?<br /><br />Mac: Mac can now be run on any PC, full guides here: http://www.osx86project.org/<br /><br />Linux: One of the most popular distributions is Ubuntu, which is available to try without any changes to your computer, available here: http://www.ubuntu.com/<br /><br />Windows: Buy a disk from a store, if you don't already have it.Azexianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05353884759159756646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-87862916832467905082008-08-18T18:35:00.003-04:002008-08-23T09:49:10.972-04:00Games and UnixOne of the biggest arguments on why Unix is not going to beat Windows is games. Sadly for them, they are wrong. There are many options on how to play games in Unix based OS's, like "Wine", Vritualization, and Dual booting is a good way to retain game ability without looking at Unix as your main desktop. I'll go through these options, but keep in mind these are not the only options, but those that I think are the best.<br /><br /> Wine is a program being worked on every day, and allows many executable files (.exe) to be run in Unix. While this is not many people's favorites, some people swear by it. I have found some success with it in Ubuntu Linux, and Mac OS X, but I personally do not use it often because I do not use that many supported programs. Not to say that it is bad, but I use some weird programs at times. I do recommend it for older programs though. This usually runs them well. Sometimes better than Vista can run things from windows 98 and 95.<br /><br /> Vritualization is the next option that I recommend. It allows you to run (in most cases) any BIOS based operating system. Most do not support EFI, but then again, Mac OS X is the only OS that commonly uses EFI, and can not be virtualized by law (with exceptions now thanks to VMware Fusion). But for the gaming purposes, You can run Windows and Unix based operating systems with VMware products, and Virtualbox. VMware keeps their projects closed, so people can not edit them, while Virtualbox OSE (Open Source Edition) is open source and free. Please support open source when you can. It will save you money and help out the independent developers.<br /><br /> The last option that I will talk about is Dual Booting. This allows you to have two (or potentially more) operating systems that your computer can run. Mac now offers "Boot Camp" to allow windows to run on Apple computers as if they were PC's. This is great for gaming as you cab restart into windows, play a game, and come back to your desktop. This does require your hard drive to be partitioned, but it is so simple, you may not even know that you are doing it. Removing Windows is even easier. When it comes to PC's, if you have Windows XP or Vista already installed, you can dual boot with almost any Linux Distro (Distribution). The installers range from easy to hard.<br /><br /> Ubuntu Linux has come up with an amazing installer called WUBI (Windows Ubuntu Installer). This allows you to intall Ubuntu linux on a PC with windows, and requires no partitioning of the hard drive, no CD's to be burned, or used, and no additionally bootloaders to be installed. It uses the Windows bootloader to cloose between Ubuntu and Windows when starting up, and the install is held in a folder in the hard drive. It's litterally as easy to install as using any regular windows program, as it is one. Give it a try today!<br /><br /> Questions, Comments, Money to donate? Contact me at kdb424@gmail.com (The donation comment was a joke for those who do not know)kdb424http://www.blogger.com/profile/09715687194854282214noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-56945549214801109662008-08-09T17:27:00.000-04:002008-08-09T18:34:17.577-04:00Security and what it means to you.One of the things that Unix is know for is security. Most of you will remember Windows before Vista, is that you would never have those annoying pop-ups every 2 seconds asking if you want to do something. Every time that you tried to open something, or pretty much do ANYTHING. Well that was Microsoft trying to get there security up.<br /><br /> The problem with windows XP, although it may be nice, it would never ask if you wanted to do something. This let viruses run themselves without ever consulting you. They knew that they could. Think about it this way. That's like your neighbor just walking into your house and eating your food, like you never existed. Not too nice now is that?<br /><br /> In the Unix world, this is different. In order to change anything that affects your system, such as adding or removing a program, running a program for the first time, changing anything that was installed for your operating system to run, and many other things, you need to enter your password. This is initiated in the terminal, or the script by using the command "sudo" before anything that needs administrative privelages.<br /><br /> What this ultimately does, is it protects the user from anything that they don't want happening, because they are required to enter there password. This can be a good thing for those people who often forget passwords, because you will never forget this one. It's not to the point where it is annoying, but it is enough to keep you secure. This is implimented in Macintosh, Linux, and other Unix based operating systems too.kdb424http://www.blogger.com/profile/09715687194854282214noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588798594921236443.post-32067382678532420192008-08-09T02:07:00.000-04:002008-08-09T02:34:54.970-04:00Why Unix?This post is all about why Unix, and not something else. For all of you non-geeks, Unix is the base of an operating system, like MS-DOS. I'm sure that EVERYONE has heard of Windows XP, or Vista before. That is based on what is called DOS. Way way back when there was only text on computers, DOS, Unix, and other operating systems were created, so the computers could be used. Today, we no longer see the text unless you go to a command line like "Terminal" in mac and linux, but everything that you see and use is based on that text.<br /><br /> I am not here to say what is better, as everyone has there own opinions, but here to ask you to give Unix a chance, and not ignore it like most people do. First off, the only operating systems that use MS-DOS is, well, MS-DOS, Windows 95, and all other Windows versions up to date! This has been the most popular operating system, and the most prone to getting viruses, and being hacked.<br /><br /> Unix is the second most popular operating system available. There are some huge advantages to Unix. There are HUGE amounts of operating systems that are based on Unix, which gives you a much larger choice to get exactly what you want. Macintosh is based on Unix, and is quickly becoming as popular as windows. Another name that people may know better than Unix, is Linux. Linux is another rising operating system. Linux is not necessarily an operating system itself in most peoples eyes, but a base that allows customization easy for programmers. There are definitely hundreds if not thousands of different Linux distributions (or distros) out there to choose from.<br /><br /> That' it for this post, but more will be comming soon. Come back to read up on why you might want to switch, and how easy that it really is to install, even if you want to keep your copy of Windows running also!<br /><br /><br />If you have any more questions, or comments, or ideas for upcomming posts, let me know!<br />kdb424@gmail.comkdb424http://www.blogger.com/profile/09715687194854282214noreply@blogger.com0