02.01.2007
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Don says:
I won't say our Linux adventure has reached an end, it would be more accurate to say it's reached a beginning, but I think we're pretty much through the cut-and-try phase of the process. No Linux distribution we've tried can hold a candle to Debian when it comes to older computers. Granted, Debian wasn't particularly fast on a 266 MHz PII but it ran and all the software worked. More importantly, the computer had access to the Debian repositories and that's an incomparable boon. I'll give you a couple of examples; I was trying to draw an electronic schematic in MS Paint the other day, on my Windows machine and I'm a poor artist at best so it was a very frustrating process. I gave up after a bit and googled for a freeware app but all I could find was a Linux app. On a hunch I switched to my Debian machine, turned on Synaptic (the package manager which gives me access to the repositories) and typed the name of the app into the search window. Sure enough, the software was in the Debian repository. What, you ask, does that mean? Well, if an application isn't in the repository, and I want it, I have to install it from source. There's no guarantee it'll work with the version of Linux I have and, to me, it's a very intimidating process but if the application is in the repository I can install it with two mouse clicks.That's one good example, here's another:
For months I've been accumulating parts to build a PC based recording studio which will use the 32 bit version of 64 Studio as its operating system. One way to establish a song's tempo in the recording studio is to record five minutes of what is called a "click track", essentially just a metronome, which is then played back via headphones while subsequent tracks are being recorded. I've been wondering what I'd use to establish a tempo in my recordings. I've never needed a metronome so I don't have one but knowing that 64 Studio is based on Debian, and has access to the Debian repositories, I used my Debian machine to check the repository for a metronome software and sure enough, there is one called "gtick" but I found another application that I didn't begin to imagine existed; It's called Hydrogen and it's a full featured programable virtual drum machine which is easily comparable to a professional machine costing very nearly $300. Of course, being Open Source software, it didn't cost me anything and that just blows me away.
For a newer, faster computer PCLinuxOS is the hands-down choice insofar as we're concerned but there are many other excellent choices. These articles contain a lot of good information on that topic:
The best Linux Distribution of them all.
Choosing a desktop Linux distro.
Which distribution is best?
Chris Pirillo opened a recent issue of Windows Fanatics with the words "Can you write?" and went on with some commentary about how they had their system pretty much up to speed and were ready to add some new voices to Lockergnome. I sent him an email telling him "sure I can write" but added that I probably wouldn't have much to say that his readers would find interesting. I guess he's more optimistic than me because a few minutes later I got an invitation to open a blog at Lockergnome and I accepted. I'm pretty intimidated about it so it took me a couple of days to write and upload my first post. I can't say I know how it works really. Am I just blogging at Lockergnome? If I write something Chris or another of the editors likes will it be reproduced in one of their many internet publications? Is this the step that will finally launch me on a career as a big-time journalist? Will Timmy fall off the cliff into the raging river before the commercial break is over and Lassie gets back? Yes, these and other significant questions could be answered in the next exciting episode of the Don & Lisa Show. Or not *shrug* our script writer sucks, we never have a clue about what's going to happen next :) See you next time.
Lisa says:
It's easy to look around you and laugh at your own community's faults and foibles, but let's face it, now and then it's just too much fun. The nearest town to us is Llano, TX and it's not exactly a cultural Mecca. The Llano Basin has the highest density of deer in the United States; and Llano County is considered to be the deer-hunting capital of Texas. I myself, in person, saw with my own two eyes....a matching set of translucent bra and panties in deep woods camo in Wal-Mart in Marble Falls, Texas. Sort of makes you wonder what they're hunting, eh? I'd like to think this is the only place where you can see women in make-up, hair and jewelry, wearing full camo outfits with dried blood on them, dropping by the grocery store to pick up a few extra packages of sausage and jerky seasoning. I must say I ended up in the perfect community for a carnivore, these people understand meat. Llano may be the only town we know of that has almost as many barbeque places as churches. The sterling example below is the icing on the cake.
Here's another piece of everyday art we get a kick out of. On Highway 29 outside of Llano there's a home where there's always a life-size figure to represent the season. This charming lady is a tribute to Valentine's Day, no doubt. On our way to the grocery store we always look to see what this creative family has set out to share with the neighbors.
'Til next time, y'all.
