Carol Rutz’s Annexe

That newest Ubuntu edition has not only affected my desktop, it also made the interns at Ivy Tech throw conniptions. (But not as bad as the Windows Server 2003 not recognizing the onboard Ethernet card.)

I’ve been putting in my hours at the Hardware Room, helping set up a network and installing some operating systems in the boxen. One of the boxen was installed with Ubuntu Server…the Hard[l]y [Working] Heron edition. First, we were unable to get the X Window System to run correctly. The X Window System deals with monitor and graphics configuration. If you want to see the file that configures your Linux computer, you go to “xorg.conf”. We did get to see the GUI. Alas, it was at low resolution. We installed new drivers. Nothing. What was a huge pain was that there was no manual for the Batesias brand monitor…and that their webpage was “blocked by Multiwave internet usage protection policy.” And I thought of copying and pasting a new “xorg.conf” file. Not even that worked. The funny thing that the Live CDs of Gentoo, Ubuntu Dapper Drake and OpenSUSE did detect that graphics card and monitor, but not the recent Ubuntu Server.

In frustration, we decided to install OpenSUSE…and the Linux box was running. At that point, it was time to install Apache. The last time I touched Apache was for an online Web Administration class. I had to refresh my memory and got my textbooks out for reference. First I had to download it, then I tried to compile it. Did not work, and tried again. After some attempts, I realized that I needed two things in order to get Apache installed: the Gnu Compiler Collection, and Make. I used SUSE’s package manager to download them, and then got Apache set up and installed. Yay!

Tomorrow, I will set up the rest of Apache. So far this week, this is how many hours served:

Monday: 3
Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 5
Thursday: 5

Friday morning…I’ll inform the boss about my success.

Last night, I found my disc with Ubuntu’s earlier distro and I was so happy about that. The disc was from this British mag called Linux Format, and I paid $19.99 for my Ubuntu magazine guide and discs over a year ago. This distro was much more stable than its later versions. Feisty Fawn worked great, but Gutsy was buggy with occasional reboots.

I ended up reinstalling Dapper Drake (6.06 LTS) and would recommend others to stick with Dapper. As for Hardy/Heroic/Hardly Working Heron (whatever H word Ubuntu cooks up), I found that other people had problems with the freezing up. Is it the video drivers? Is it the new kernel? Even after 15 pages on Ubuntu Forums, there is not a clear answer. I’m hoping that the Intrepid Ibex release in July would resolve this. Until then, I’m staying put with Dapper.

I was fed up with rebooting everyday, when the desktop freezes in the middle of a project. I tried various fixes, but I felt that it is time to try something different, either with Fedora 9 or Mandriva One. I’m trying Mandriva first, as it’s Live CD and has KDE. Wish me luck.

I enjoyed Ubuntu, but the newest distro has been too glitchy for my desktop. If I upgrade, I’ll return.

Still ironing out the kinks to Vista, and am working on my Indiana GOP convention article. Been using the registry hacks I found online and decided not to take advantage of the shiny Aero interface due to the RAM hogging. If that is not enough, the dang Ubuntu box glitches and freezes, forcing me to reboot…and I think that’s due to the new distro I installed. If I cannot find a solution, I may have to switch to another Linux distro, like Simply MEPIS or Damn Small Linux.

In the meantime, here is Blondie for your enjoyment.

I have a HP dv2000 notebook…and today, the screen went weird. I looked up some troubleshooting…and there has been reports of similar users getting troubles.

I will have to order an inverter for my screen and meanwhile, rescue my data.

On the bright side, I’ve upgraded my Ubuntu box to its Gutsy Gibbon incarnation. Working great and it recognized my HP printer immediately! Will have to do some WINE-like emulation action so I can finish my Windows-related work.

The Prediger and I are planning to head out to Columbus at the end of this month for Ohio LinuxFest 2007. The deal maker was that Drew Curtis will be there. There’s no party like a Fark Party! I will have to bring an bottle of Heineken.

I’m looking forward to learning more about Ubuntu and getting a better feel of it. (Although I’m more comfortable with the MEPIS distro…which is good because Warren Woodford will speak at the LinuxFest as well!)

Also of interest: Rev Donald Parris is presenting on marketing FOSS. He has been pushing the use of Free and Open Source software in the Christian Church. This is a Good Thing ™. If the Synod and its congregations can adopt the use of FOSS, imagine the innovation, the savings, and the increased use of technology. Instead of paying Microsoft Office licensing fees, schools and churches can use OpenOffice.org for bulletins and office administration. One can develop software materials for catechesis and enlightenment. How about an alternative to censorware “web filtering” that allows individual families and schools to set up what they want according to their morality instead of others imposing their standards? FOSS offers that ability and much more.

O’Reilly has posted the OSCON presentations on Blip.tv, so you can check out the keynote speakers. Also, check out the various bloggers for their coverage. I will need to add a separate category for ‘07 alumni.

I’m back home and the Prediger was happy to see me back from OSCON. I have learned so much and I’m looking forward to next year. In the meantime, I’m going to join the various Open Source communities online and keep in touch. My books are there and the Learning Perl book is ready to be used.

My Flickr album is available online, as well as others who went to OSCON. Preggie insisted on me making an actual scrapbook with the pics and show it off to our friends in Fort Wayne.

He will show the pics off to them in addition to the scadloads of pens and his XL shirts I’ve procured from the Expo. He is already wearing his Red Hat red cap. I got a small stuffed Novell Linux Tux doll for Professor Barry and mousepads for Professor Stroup. The shirts are neatly hung up in my closet, ready to wear. I’m planning to wear them when the Fall Semester starts at Ivy Tech.

It would be nice to have a computer students’ association and learn new things and attend events like OSCON. They would be very impressed and they are guaranteed to learn so much like I did. That’s why I’m already saving up money for next year. The airfare was quite high and I want to save up to cover that.

I want to say in general: thank you. Thank you for making my first time at OSCON memorable. Thank you for giving this n00b advice and opportunities to learn more. I hope to see you guys next year and by the time I’m done, I will be more in tune with the coding. See you online and see ya next year!

I went to the sessions as usual, and walked around the Expo Hall. That night, there were three gatherings: the SourceForge Awards at the Jupiter Hotel, the BeerForge at the Thirsty Lion Pub near Voodoo Doughnut, and the Sun BoF gathering at the Convention Center. The Jupiter Hotel is a hipster’s getaway. It has the Doug Fir Lounge, which reminds me of those 50s/60s coffee shops, but it has a full bar and homestyle food. Their mashed potatoes were homestyle lumpy with a spicy gravy and stick to your ribs wholesomeness. The Jupiter also has a hair salon, a tattoo parlor…and a very small shop where they sell what I call “implements of affection”. (fnar fnar!)

The awards ceremony was at the court yard with some nifty snacks, including fried coconut shrimp skewers. You must see this at the Flickr site. Some ladies thought that Ben of Encino’s balloon boobs were annoying, so they used their skewers and popped them. He has a spare pair, in which he inflated them and shoved them in his pink jacket.

After that, there was the BeerForge, and I chatted with someone who worked for Google and his wife. They gave me great advice in regards to professional development. The Voodoo Doughnut was nearby, so I picked up their Memphis Mafia fritter. (That’s banana+choco chips+peanut butter. Frickin’ huge!) I had to save it for Friday breakfast, as I was stuffed by the food at the Jupiter. I took the Max to the Sun BoF at the Convention, and hung out with them for a few minutes. I went back to my room and relaxed.

The last day was quite nice, and I got to see some funny hacks from the “Pimp My Garbage” session. Who could have thought that Pong and boot fetishes can be combined for lulz? I had lunch at Red Robin with some blokes from the Perl Foundation. I had to buy some cheapo duffel bags from the Lloyd Center mall and pack in all of my swag and books. I had so much stuff to carry back home, it was ridiculous. I said my farewells and got ready to fly back home on Saturday.

Wednesday was the big kick-off as there were keynote speeches by O’Reilly, Reinders, Peyton-Jones, and Shuttleworth and the opening of the Expo. I’m telling you, I have enough shirts to clothe myself for a year…and it looks like I won’t be buying pens for a while.

If there is anything I have to say…the guys at Mozilla has served us a huge serving of Kawaii with Kit, the sad-faced firefox. I got their t-shirt with that cute logo so I can wear it proudly. And if that was not enough…I got stickers of Mozilla Japan’s mascot Foxkeh. Squeeee! Terminal Cuteness! *thud*

Did a mini-talk at OSCAMP on Troubleshooting with the Computer Naive. Basically, with the online support of Open Source, using software like OOo and/or trying out Ubuntu is a viable option for those who are dissatisfied with current mainstream choices. And as long the local geek is able to serve with patience and teach the basics to his customers, his neighbors can have better control of their computers.

Went to the Firefox/Creative Commons shindig at the Wonder Ballroom, and while the music was spiffy, the food was sparse. Several of us ended up going to SushiLand and then head to the Doubletree for the Sun (Open Solaris) gathering. Fun! There were Big Wheel races, and a huge spread of food, complete with geeks playing hackey-sack. I ended up in a Big Wheel race…and I won one bruise on my leg.