Another sign that the Microsoft empire is failing and falling:
Steve Jobs acknowledges that Microsoft will be forced to embrace web-to-deskptop technology. He’s about two years too late. Google, Yahoo, and many others are way ahead in this game.
Linux Is Here To Stay
You may have read here before about my ventures with Linux on the home pc, where things must work for the whole family, not just me the Linux Geek.
Back in March or so, I grew tired of Windows XP on my home desktop. I was sick of having to keep up with WGA cracks (ahem), sick of bloated crapware, and not interested whatsoever in Vista.
So, I installed RedHat Linux (Fedora Core 6 to be exact). This was highly tolerable for a couple of months since I was used to using it at work all the time, and I am well versed in RedHat operating systems. However, it caused issues for Alicia because it just wasn’t intuitive enough, and it didn’t just work. There was always some fingling needed to be done in a terminal window.
I decided a few weeks ago that I would install Ubuntu 7.4 Fiesty Fawn, and I haven’t looked back since. When I learned that Dell was shipping PC’s with Ubuntu instead of Linux, I knew it must be time. The installation was fast, and it was insanely simple to do. The Ubuntu developers have thought of everything, and it seems like they are driven to make something with mass appeal that is better than Windows. In my opinion, they have.
It just works. Plugged in my iPod, it worked. Plugged in my old NTFS data drive, it worked. Plugged in my USB card reader, it worked. All of it works. Needed a codec to watch some video clip, and Ubuntu went and found it easily, letting me start watching within seconds.
The final test of Ubuntu’s readiness for the masses was how well my wife handled it. So far, the only complaint is that she cannot listen to music she bought from iTunes (until I work around that). So all in all, Ubuntu passes with flying colors.
Thingitudes
Some random goodness to fill up your Sunday afternoon.
Ever wondered what this RSS stuff is all about? Venture over to Mashable’s “Ultimate RSS Toolbox“, then learn how to keep tabs on just about anything on the Internet as it happens.
And speaking of getting organized, I’ve been toying with Essential PIM the last week or so, and have found it working itself into my daily workflow. Even the free version is very robust, but I’m considering a purchase of the version that will let me run it off a USB drive.
I was pleased to find out that Sitescore thinks relatively well of this web site. Plug in your URL to see what might be keeping you from reaching as many people as possible.
If you find yourself with a nagging itch to play video games, then you must visit 100 of the Best Legal Free Full Version Games You Can Download Online.
Simple Spark is a nicely organized catalog of online web applications, ranging from free to subscription. It is easy to find an application to help you do anything from word processing to accounting to chatting with friends. Pretty slick in and of itself, and it leads you to all the fresh Web2.0 goodness (or crappiness, depending on your point of view).
Enjoy.
Beachin
Been at the beach this week, heading home tomorrow. Gray went fishing, kayaking, and crabbing for the first time. Dax collected little crabs and in an upside-down frisbee, undeterred by their little claws. Alicia and I got a little too much sun.
Links and News
According to W3Counter, which maintains a pretty good cross sampling of web site users (from what I’ve hear, anyway), the use of Firefox for web surfing has risen to an impressive 25%. That is so great to hear, as Internet Explorer is and continues to be the bane of web developers and designers everywhere. Good riddence, another 10% of IE users!
I have long been a scavenger for the best deals on items I am seeking to purchase. I was pleased to find one tool that encompasses many of the bargain-hunter sites I am used to visiting. Before you buy anything online, be sure to stop at Dealighted.com!
I discovered an excellent streaming radio station at pigradio.com. They play a delectible sampling of alternative and indie music. If you are into that sort of thing, then check it out.
More to come…
A New One
At long last, I have come close to finishing Alicia’s web site!
Thanks to June for the spiffy background image based on Alicia’s art, I think it’s looking pretty good. Alicia isn’t very happy with the quality of the photographs of her paintings though, as they look different from monitor to monitor, and none seem to capture what the paintings look like in real life. That’s just the way it goes with web design, unfortunately.
I’ll be changing content on there regularly, so check back often for Alicia’s latest works.
And starting June 1, Alicia will have a spot at the Kress Emporium in downtown Asheville!
Found Sound
In a previous post I wrote titled Searching For Songs, I lamented about not being able to find a song from an 80’s punk band about a kid getting trapped in a refrigerator. Every few months I would do a Google search to see if anything new had been indexed by that wonderful tool of discovery.
I finally hit the jackpot. Through some amazing eruption of forgotten information from my sub conscience, I recalled a line of the song and was able to locate this post by a guy named Glen Case. The song is called Refigerator Heaven, as it turns out, and the band that recorded it is called The Freeze – an outfit from Boston. Moments later, I had obtained the song from the iTunes music store.
How happy am I to finally be able to hear this song again after 22 years of absence? As happy as a baby Psychlo on a straight diet of Kerbango, dog!
On a side note, Mr. Jeter was able to supply me with the other long lost song I had been searching for. I need Mr. Jeter to contact me with his address so I can send him his LP’s back, along with the digitally converted versions from my USB turntable!!!
Geeky Stuff
On the Dell website, they detail all the cool stuff Michael Dell has in his personal tech arsenal. I was suprised to see his primary laptop runs Ubuntu Linux, Open Office, and Firefox. Guess he’s as fed up with Window as the rest of us!
Speaking of (free) alternatives to (upgrades from) Microsoft products, Thunderbird 2 is out! I have been eagerly waiting for this, as it will introduce some cool new features, such as the ability to tag your messages with keywords. Ooh! I gotta go upgrade now…I’ll let you know how it goes!
Kurt Vonnegut, Dead at 84
Ah well…Tingaling!
Sorry, I haven’t had time to make any Song Of The Week postings. Been running around like a headless chicken, juggling jobs, kids, and flaming kittens. On Tuesday I gave notice that I’m leaving my job with P3I, where I am working for the Air Force, and will soon be starting to do full-time contract work for a marketing company based in Raleigh. Luckily, this does not mean I will be moving!
I’ll post more info when I know more about it all, but in the mean time, make sure you check out the Top Ten ’80s Robots (We Expected to Exist By Now). It’s funny ha-ha.
Song Of The Week: March 30, 2007
This week we return to that late-80’s Washington, DC sound. In the early 90’s, I was so into the DC music scene that I could tell you the member of just about every band going back to 1980, and I could count on one hand the number of Dischord Records releases I did not own, and had not spun at least a dozen times.
When I was playing with Substance in 1987, we had the pleasure of opening for this DC band I’d never heard of called Soulside, an insanely intense band driven by the things that made “that DC sound”: emotion, politics, and passion about playing music that meant something. The show was outside of Louisville on the back of a flatbed trailer by a barn on a farm in southern Indiana. It was hot, it was loud, and it was fun.
I had another chance to open for Soulside at Tewligan’s Tavern in Louisville, when I was in Cerebellum, which to this day remains one of my favorite shows of all time.
This tune comes from Soulside’s second record, Trigger, which is in my all-time top 10 list of favorite albums. Enjoy.
Soulside – Trigger.mp3 – from the Trigger LP.
Click arrow to play, or right-click and “Save As” to download