Musings on computers, music, travel and other such things.
So far this weekend I have:
So all in all a busy weekend.
On Sunday I finally got round to replacing my dead desktop computer. As planned, I ditched the idea of buying another desktop, and decided to get something that would replace both the dead PC and my slowly dying 5 year old laptop. I ended up with a Sony Vaio laptop that is far more powerful than both computers put together, and which pretty much caters for all my computing needs (with my EeePC still very much in use for lunchtime browsing and computing on the move).
OS-wise I’ve stuck with Ubuntu, with a 50gb Vista partition because I promised myself I would learn Vista this year. So far I’ve been in Ubuntu 95% of the time at least, but it is good to know that if I need to test a bit of Windows software then I can do it without bugging Steph.
Going from 768mb of Ram to 3Gb feels quite liberating, and this is actually the first computer I’ve owned with a DVD burner. I think I might have to do something creative at some point.
I’ve written these instructions (371.6 KB PDF) for work, but think they might be useful in all sorts of other situations.
Basically it boils down to:
On my USB I’ve also added several portable apps, so as to ensure I’ve got everything I need for remote support of misbehaving Windows PCs.
Of course, you could just make the USB version first and then customise it using the free space on the USB, but this method allows you to remove software before transfering it to USB, which makes it useful for smaller devices (and for the sort of customised image you might want to install to a netbook).
The PPC version of Debian Testing seems to solve all the problems I’ve been having with my iBook.
It’s also the only Gnome based Linux Distro I can use for more than 5 minutes without changing the theme and wallpaper.
It might only be a backup laptop, but with my luck recently it’s better to be prepared.
I’ve just stumbled upon this net label, whilst trying to determine which year the Wind Whistles album was actually released in (the answer being 2007 and 2008 in different places).
The label has so far only released three albums, but two of them happen to already be on my list of favourite freely available music for this year, which makes me think I’m likely to like anything they put out.
If I was buying a new PC, I think I’d get it from EfficientPC. 8Gb of memory and 3Tb of storage for under £700, or more realistically some decent PCs that blow anything I use now out of the water for around £300 means it would actually be possible to buy a new PC for less than the amount of money I have left in my bank account at the end of the month.
Not that I’m going to buy one, I just like to price things up every now and again.
http://torrent.mandriva.com/public/ has everything you may need. Known issues are at http://wiki.mandriva.com/en/2009.0_Errata
I like this release, and think it’s the prettiest Mandriva release for ages (if not ever). I may get round to updating tonight, but it will more likely be tomorrow when things are a little quieter.
For the past couple of weeks we’ve been piloting a laptop surgery at work. We’ve had several EeePCs bought in, and the general consensus of opinion was that they loved the hardware, but that Xandros looked ugly and wasn’t very functional. So what we’ve been doing is offering either Mandriva 2008.1 or the netbook respin of Ubuntu as an alternative (either on the internal SD card or on an external device). Feedback has been good, and I’ve had a few very productive chats with new Linux users over the past few days which have made me realise how vitally important user interface is. Users don’t want their computer to look like a dumbed down version of their last computer, but they do want something that is instinctive, stylish, and doesn’t get in their way.
Something for Asus and Xandros to think about perhaps.
Seeing as everyone in the world is doing it.
I also have some inactive desktop machines that I don’t find I need to use these days:
Steph also has three machines; a desktop and a laptop running Windows XP and a server running Fedora 8.
Too many computers? There is no such thing. And it’s not like we have more than 3 or 4 on at a time.
I was going to wait to review this until Sunday, but as I’ve listened to it a fair few times over the last 24 hours I thought it was worth sharing.
Window Sills by The Wind Whistles – They think they sound like the Violent Femmes and the Lemonheads. Other people compare them with The Decemberists and the Moldy Peaches. I’d agree with all the above and add the White Stripes and the Fiery Furnaces to the mix.
The music has a traditional edge, but deals with modern (yet universal) subjects. Both singers can sing, and it sounds like they would be amazing in a live setting (anywhere from a concert hall to a camp fire).
I think I’ve just found my “walking to work” record for the next few days.