Online nowZalmoxsis
Bill is a single guy from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Likes 484 pages, 1 photo • 125 fans • Received 22 reviews
Member since Oct 05, 2006
Beta still sucks! My pages look best in the Classic View.
ARCHIVES: 5 10 15 20 'The Devil, had he fidelity,/ Would be the finest friend ...' ~Emily Dickinson

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7:41am
This is an IP checker;
I put it here for convenience, mine and yours.



Now I can't see your system myself; only my own information --
which, in fact, is only my proxy server's IP and location.
Not even my operating system or browser are identified.

So ... if you don't like what you find, then check out my previous posts
on tech stuff: privacy issues (1 and 2),
search tips, censorship, Internet security,
proxy servers, and (of course) Linux (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).


http://www.photobasement.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/choccoveredbacon.jpg
Liked it 7:40am 114 reviews bizarre
http://www.photobasement.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/choccoveredbacon.jpg


          The greasy boldness of bacon
          combined with the sweet, dark
          sensuality of chocolate, now in
          convenient bite-sized strips
          that you can take anywhere!
PCLinuxOS Wiki: Repositories
Liked it May 10, 7:51am 1 review software, linux, repositories
http://docs.pclinuxos.com/Repositories
Since I have raised the question of Linux repositories in some people's minds, it would only be good manners to provide my sources.

This is a decent guide for the newbie, and to start I advise that you just follow the advice given here. There is, however, at least one inaccuracy: it is claimed that all repositories contain exactly the same software; this, I can tell you from experience, is not true -- though they don't vary too much as a rule. Yet, I have been unable to get some software at one repository, then manage to locate it when I enable another.

It is true that some repository servers are noticeably faster than others. Some servers I have clocked at close to 900 kbps on my computer, and at least one server here advertises that its top speed is up to 1 gbps; though this is limited only to subscribers of that local ISP. Other repositories make certain other restrictions, too. You can experiment and find which you like best, as servers tend to have policies in place, the result being that your geolocation determines the sort of treatment you get, and if you live in the right place you will be granted more bandwidth than others.

Also, a number of these repositories would seem to be obsolete. Therefore, as it may help others, I have appended my own list of URLs for what are (for me, at any rate) the fastest and most dependable repositories here:

spout.ussg.indiana.edu/linux/pclinuxos/pclinuxos/apt/ [spout.ussg.indiana.edu/linux/pclinuxos/pclinuxos/apt/] " spout.ussg.indiana.edu/linux/pclinuxos/pclinuxos/apt/ [spout.ussg.indiana.edu/linux/pclinuxos/pclinuxos/apt/]
ftp.heanet.ie/pub/pclinuxos/apt/ [ftp.heanet.ie/pub/pclinuxos/apt/] " ftp.heanet.ie/pub/pclinuxos/apt/ [ftp.heanet.ie/pub/pclinuxos/apt/]
distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/apt/ [distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/apt/] " distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/apt/ [distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/apt/]
gtlib.gatech.edu/pub/metalab/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/apt/ [gtlib.gatech.edu/pub/metalab/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/apt/] " gtlib.gatech.edu/pub/metalab/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/apt/ [gtlib.gatech.edu/pub/metalab/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/apt/]
ftp://ftp.belnet.be/pub/mirror/pclinuxonline.com/apt/">ftp://ftp.belnet.be/pub/mirror/pclinuxonline.com/apt/
ftp://ftp.ch.debian.org/mirror/pclinuxos/apt/">ftp://ftp.ch.debian.org/mirror/pclinuxos/apt/
ftp.sh.cvut.cz/MIRRORS/pclinuxos/apt/ [ftp.sh.cvut.cz/MIRRORS/pclinuxos/apt/] " ftp.sh.cvut.cz/MIRRORS/pclinuxos/apt/ [ftp.sh.cvut.cz/MIRRORS/pclinuxos/apt/]
ftp.nl.freebsd.org/os/Linux/distr/texstar/pclinuxos/apt/ [ftp.nl.freebsd.org/os/Linux/distr/texstar/pclinuxos/apt/] " ftp.nl.freebsd.org/os/Linux/distr/texstar/pclinuxos/apt/ [ftp.nl.freebsd.org/os/Linux/distr/texstar/pclinuxos/apt/]
mirrors.lastdot.org [mirrors.lastdot.org] :1280/pclos/apt/" mirrors.lastdot.org [mirrors.lastdot.org] :1280/pclos/apt/
linuxstation.net/pub/pclinuxos/apt/ [linuxstation.net/pub/pclinuxos/apt/] " linuxstation.net/pub/pclinuxos/apt/ [linuxstation.net/pub/pclinuxos/apt/]
ftp.leg.uct.ac.za/pub/linux/pclinuxos/apt/ [ftp.leg.uct.ac.za/pub/linux/pclinuxos/apt/] " ftp.leg.uct.ac.za/pub/linux/pclinuxos/apt/ [ftp.leg.uct.ac.za/pub/linux/pclinuxos/apt/]
mirror.pclinuxclub.com/pclinuxos/apt/ [mirror.pclinuxclub.com/pclinuxos/apt/] " mirror.pclinuxclub.com/pclinuxos/apt/ [mirror.pclinuxclub.com/pclinuxos/apt/]
ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/Linux/PCLinuxOS/apt/ [ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/Linux/PCLinuxOS/apt/] " ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/Linux/PCLinuxOS/apt/ [ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/Linux/PCLinuxOS/apt/]

NOTE: You will need to copy and paste the link addresses, as StumbleUpon's formatting overrides all my attempts to leave the URLs intact.

Below this is a line for your distribution. Mine looks like this:

pclinuxos/2007

In fact, I am using a slightly newer and different distro, PC Linux Gnome 2008, but I tried various permutations of that line and it doesn't seem to work.

And below this is another line for 'sections'. Mine is filled in like this:

main extra nonfree kde testing

If you use some other desktop (for example, Gnome, Xfce, etc.), then you will have to fill this in differently. To my knowledge, Gnome users do not need to fill in 'gnome' here. I've tried out the Gnome desktop, and this seems to be true.

I did discover one other neat little trick. If you're feeling adventurous, and don't mind messing up your computer now and again for purposes of self-education, then make your line to include the category 'testing'. Be careful, however, because once or twice I've ended up with some intolerable configuration which I could not undo; and then had to go back to reinstall. But this entry gives access to the latest test releases; and, in at least two instances, I have been able to retrieve some special programs that had dropped out of all the repositories' lists. Of course, you're taking a chance, but thus far I haven't had any problems with 'testing' software, and anyway, I wanted them because they ran better than the available alternatives.

One tip, though, if you're new to Linux: once you have your settings 'just so' in all programs, simply don't overwrite your Home folder when you reinstall; then they'll all be restored exactly as you left them, and it will just be a matter of downloading your preferred programs from the respositories.

Later, with more experience, you can create your own personalized Live CD, with all your own programs and settings; and even put your entire custom operating system on a USB flash drive.
What if Microsoft Ran an Official Windows Vista Software Repository?
Liked it May 1, 5:36pm 1 review software, linux, operating-systems, windows, repositories
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/visualbasic/dotnet/archives/what-if-microsoft-ran-...
Another thumbs-up which really ought to be a thumbs-down; but since I've discovered it, I must give it a thumbs-up to get credit for the discovery, or even to review it. O! the burdens of responsibility!

This guy seems a little more informed about his subject than most non-Linux users who write about Linux; but he still says some pretty stupid stuff.

For example: He complains that the Linux repositories are hard to search for the software that you need. Well, I'm hardly a Linux expert, but in the past year I cannot complain about not finding software. (In Linux, there are about 2 or 3 choices for everything, sometimes more: for example, I have 11 different browsers.) And as far as goes that problem of 'dependencies' (libraries, drivers, and other obscure files necessary to make larger programs work): When you click to install the program, Synaptic (the software manager that comes bundled with most Linux distros) automatically tells you what dependencies are needed, and marks them to install. Then you can choose to install, or not.

He charges that if you enable upgrades, then you must accept all upgrades, or none at all; which is sort of true, but not really a problem for an experienced user. If you insist on using an older version of a program, you can simply force the version you want; or go to the home page of its creator, download it, and install from source.

Furthermore, he accuses the Linux community with a kind of elitism, because only a handful of people can decide what's included in a repository. What kind of alternative does he propose? Perhaps those with malicious or criminal intentions ought to be allowed to exercise their democratic right to load up the repositories with spyware, malware, viruses, trojans, etc.? (Oh, wait -- that sounds too much like running Windows!) I, for one, am glad that people who know what they're doing oversee the process; and the result is, I have a system which has run consistently with no problems, no crashes, no errors, no Blue Screens of Death, for over a year now.

By the way, while there are something like 500,000 verified viruses, trojans, rootkits, etc. for Windows circulating 'out there', at present only some 40+ viruses have been verified for Linux. If Linux is elitist, very well, then: that's another good reason to be one of the elect.

Is it hard to find your way around a Linux repository, or hard to get used to another operating system, with its own idiosyncratic commands and such? Well, yes -- at first. You didn't expect you would change operating systems, from the ground up, and then to have something that runs exactly like Windows; or did you?

In fact, changing to Linux is a little like moving to another planet. The language is different, the culture is different, fundamental assumptions about everything are different. But then, once you get used to the new environment, everything makes perfect sense, everything works smoothly.

To say that Linux is too hard to get used to, too difficult to find the software you want: it's like complaining that it's too hard to find your way round Afghanistan and Iraq, because not many people there speak English ... yet.

His final bit of absurdity is to suggest that there ought to be some 'congressional oversight' of Linux repositories! Why? and how?

Off the top of my head, I know of two Linux repositories in the U.S. -- both hosted by respectable academic institutions, Georgia Tech and Indiana University. The rest (of which I use maybe half a dozen) are located in Ireland, Japan, South Africa, Australia, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, etc. Now how should our government presume to oversee what goes on in those repositories?

Since I don't have a dollar to spare (so that this guy can go out a buy a clue), I will offer here instead my own advice: Expand your mind! Try new things!

As a guiding principle, I tend to trust individuals more than groups. Anybody, once you get to know them face-to-face, may have some good qualities. Individuals -- people like you and me, sitting there in front of a computer screen -- create Linux software.

For the opposite reason, I mistrust governments and big corporations, because they want to get things from you that you may not want to give away. You see, I have this innate suspicion of 'herd mentality'. The people who work for those amorphous entities cannot be held accountable for the software they create; just as the executives of those companies, or government officials, are very slippery, when we seek justice. When at last you believe that you have them pinned down, you'll hear them say, 'But I was just doing my job!' or 'My boss told me to do it!' or 'It was a management decision!'

Who do you trust?
Desktop Linux is Windows piracy aide - Software - Breaking Business and Technolo…
Liked it May 1, 7:26am 1 review software, linux, operating-systems, windows, piracy
http://software.silicon.com/os/0,39024651,39124544,00.htm?r=1


LINUX PROMOTES SOFTWARE PIRACY!

Readers, please note: Really I ought to give this page a 'thumbs-down', as there are more holes here than warehouse full of Swiss cheese. But I don't get credit for the discovery otherwise, and cannot review the page.

Lies that Big Business and Government Tell You

      "PCs running Linux are growing in popularity in part because they can be loaded
      with a pirated copy of Windows, according to a study from analyst Gartner.

      "The consulting firm has issued a report stating that about 40 per cent of Linux
      PCs will be modified to run an illegal copy of Windows, a bait-and-switch
      manoeuvre that lowers the cost of obtaining a Windows PC."


This is just another way of saying that Linux promotes piracy. Maybe this trick will be used in some cases (the motive being, he says, just to save money); but in truth, the vast majority of Linux users want nothing to do with Microsoft; moreover, they aren't crazy about Macs, either.

Any actual Linux user can see through his line of crap; his entire article rests on the assumption that Linux is just 'too hard' for the average person to figure out. If you are intending to build your own custom operating system, maybe; otherwise, it's easier and faster to get started in Linux than reinstalling either Windows or Mac. There are at least four or five distros out there that are fairly user-friendly, and you could be up and running in about 20 minutes. And finally, you need only one CD. When I was running Windows, at the end I had literally hundreds of CDs full of software.

Note, also, that he misuses the term 'bait-and-switch': this refers to a retailer advertising a product at a special low price, usually tagged with the phrase 'while supplies last'; but when the prospective customer comes in, suddenly that item is 'out-of-stock'. Then the sales person instead offers an inferior product at the same price; or, more usually, tries to up-sell', luring the customer toward a higher-priced item.

If, as the writer says, this is 'bait-and-switch', then he has unwittingly implied that Linux is the low-priced 'advertised special' (in fact, it's free); therefore it follows that Windows is the inferior, overpriced substitute. Otherwise, his whole train of thought is illogical. Moreover, bait-and-switch' tactics are used by unscrupulous business people to cheat the uninformed general public; whereas everybody knows that Linux is a group project, created by thousands of users-turned-designers, all over the world. I am left with one of two possible conclusions to draw: either the writer is deliberately trying to deceive his readers, to spread false information about Linux; or, he is illiterate, as he doesn't even understand the correct usage, in the business world, of this common phrase. I leave you to make up your own minds.

Maybe, just maybe, he is trying to say, very ineptly, that to buy and use bootleg Windows software is getting cheated? If so, then he ought to say it in plain English. But many computer shops do exactly that, and get away with it, and the legal system ignores them. Later, when we try to get security fixes and updates on Microsoft.com, we are informed that our copy of Windows is not valid.

Let's suppose one does intend to run a bootleg Windows OS. Then why bother installing Linux first?

Between just you and me, we know that pirated Windows software is easy enough to find. Everybody knows somebody who knows 'a guy': and that guy can get you pirated copies of just about anything you want; and it runs just as well as the original (which isn't very well), and comes with a working serial number.

That is the real reality, not some Microsoft fairy-tale world: with a few phone calls, and spending just a few bucks, you can get any bootleg software you want. Outside the U.S., U.K. Canada, the E.E.C., etc. -- i.e., in the so-called Third World, or in places like Iran, Russia, and so on -- our copyright laws either do not apply or are practically never enforced, so obtaining bootleg software is no problem at all, but is sold very openly everywhere.

Here's a clue: the fact that Microsoft products can be so easily hacked is not a selling point. And the reason I run Linux is because it just runs, and does exactly what I want.
Apr 29, 8:00am
Spam is 30 years old!

(And it smells like it, too!)



        Thirty years ago next week, Gary Thuerk, a marketer at the now-defunct computer
        firm Digital Equipment Corporation, sent an email to 393 users of Arpanet, the US
        government-run computer network that eventually became the internet. It was the
        first spam email ever.

        That commercial message, sent on 3 May 1978, drew a swift and negative reaction.
        Recipients complained directly to Thuerk, who had made no attempt to hide his
        identity, and DEC was reprimanded by the Arpanet administrators.

        Nevertheless, the email was a portent of things to come. Today, spam makes up 80
        to 90% of all emails sent - around 120 billion messages per day - and is a multi-billion dollar industry.
Apr 28, 7:05pm
Sacred Texts site is down!

sacred-texts.com [sacred-texts.com]

Let's hope it's not permanent; everybody run out immediately and buy one of their DVDs, and maybe it'll get back online.
Apr 26, 9:08am
Somebody told me that this button doesn't work.



No problem if you're running Linux. Open a terminal, login as root, then run the delete command.

If everybody ran Linux, those bozos in Washington would be gone already. Seriously! Your choice of operating system is just as important as casting a vote.
Apr 26, 9:06am
UPDATE: StumbleUpon sometimes blocks me; then, unaccountably, I can post again. Yesterday I could review pages; today, I am blocked.

Maybe -- someday, in some far, far better world than this one -- I'll get to review other people's pages, and even get credit for some of my stumbles. But at present my luck is very hit-and-miss, so what you're seeing here is only a pale shadow of my true self.

Also I see my number of friends has suddenly dropped, but I don't know who it was. I apologize if I seem unfriendly or lazy; but I'm busy with work a lot, and then if I can't post to my pages that also takes some of the wind out of my sails.
Meow-prod freeware and free tools
Liked it Apr 26, 9:01am 1 review software, multimedia, freeware, converters
http://meow-prod.com/menu.html
A very nice set of multimedia converters: I especially like Meow Multisound Converter and the CDmp3 Converter.


          Again, I recommend the portable versions, which require no installation. Also, I did get these to run under Linux, using Wine; but now I'm having problems with them. (However, they ran great under Windows, and anyway, Linux has better stuff.)
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