StraightShootinComputin by Jeff Smith

A solution to piracy we can all live with.

2010-05-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

The solution as I see it is for the entire industry to wake up to the fact that they do not need to be structured as they are now in order to be profitable.

You have 5 groups here.

Production companies: People who make shows.

Sponsors: People who pay for advertising.

Viewers: People who watch shows.

TV Networks: People who distribute shows via established television networks.

Pirates: People who distribute shows via non-sanctioned illegal means.

Thanks to Online Peer to Peer Distribution technology, one of these groups is obsolete.

Fact: Companies pay dearly to have their products advertised. The prices they pay are generally enough to fund the making of a television series. Often even a movie. Instead, much of their money does not go toward the making of shows, but instead goes to support the Television infrastructure... cable, satellite, over-the-air broadcasting stations as well as pay the overly high salaries of TV Network Executives.

Lets look back at the early days of television. Commercials were done on the set, by the actors in the show. Product placement was a big deal, as it is now (is it just me or is TV Land some alternate universe where everyone uses a Mac?) In the middle of the show, a short segment would feature an actor or announcer giving the advertising spiel for the product. In return, the sponsor would pay a fee that would enable the show to continue being made.

It was easy for the viewer to connect the show and the sponsor together in their mind and see the symbiotic relationship that exists there. Now lots of commercials interrupt a show to try to sell products that have no connection to the show whatsoever. So now the viewer does not have an appreciation for the sponsor and what entertainment that sponsor has provided, but instead views the sponsor's ad as an annoyance and an interruption.

People in the pirating scene cut those annoyances out. Sure, why not? They have the technology and the skill, and the product is much more enjoyable without the interruptions. Simply put, they refine the product into a more enjoyable form. They give it portability by encoding it into formats that fit on phones and PDA's.

The catch-22 here is that by doing this job in an unsanctioned manner, they are removing the value of advertisement. Also, online popularity data for a particular show is not easily gathered. People are downloading stuff from thousands of different sources and those sources do not want to give up numbers, for fear of legal reprisal. So good shows do not get credit for their online viewers and may end up looking less popular than they are. Executives giving the heave-ho to shows like this receive a much bigger backlash than they initially anticipated. But the real tragedy is that really good shows get cancelled.

If Television programming can be called an art, then I postulate that the current distribution model is hurting the art of television. Shows are overly condensed for length. Cliffhangers happen at predictable intervals because they don't want you to change the channel when the commercial comes on. This gives shows an unnatural cadence of action that hurts the viewer's ability to suspend their disbelief and enjoy the show.

Sanctioned online distribution is a new media landscape with different rules.

The biggest problem as I see it is that intermission-style advertisements would not work in this new media landscape. Anything that interrupted the story would be cut out by people in pirate scene. Even sideliner ads and overlays that are too garish and distracting would be blurred out. Get back to making ads using the cast of the show, or if that would hurt the seriousness of the drama, just use the set. Either way, it is cheaper and it ties the two things together in the viewer's mind. People would buy products based on their love and loyalty to the show. Packaging can be specialized to become show memorabilia. There are a lot of tie-ins that are possible when show and sponsor are in a more symbiotic relationship.

What needs to happen is that commercials need to change. They are annoying obnoxious interruptions that people only enjoy once or twice (at best) and then become increasingly less enamoured with as time goes by.

On the other hand, product placement still fits just fine, and would not be cut out. Also, watermarked intermittent messages and logos that decorate screen edges would likely be kept as well... unless they are really really annoying. A black bar over them, or blurring them out is just as distracting from the material as the original message likely was except in extreme cases. And honestly, it would be healthy for everyone if the "scene" agreed to leave these alone. Taking up the attitude that it is "paid for" space, and without it the show would die, would be a good thing. Also consider leaving in commercials that actually acknowledge the show (Target's LOST Smoke Monster advert was enjoyable and fit with the show)

Another thing about commercials like this is their longevity. Advertisement embedded this way will last for the life of the show, not just flash in the brainpan of millions of viewers for a forgettable squidgeon of time.

How many people watched Firefly when it came out? Obviously not enough. How many have watched it since then? Millions. If Pepsi or McDonalds had embedded an ad into that show, instead of doing it like they currently do, then all of the millions who have seen the show since it went off the air would have been viewers of the ad as well.

As it stands now, who knows what company was paying for ad time during that show's airing? Definitely not me, the version I watched had the commercials removed.

The torrent model is a distribution dream. The production company does not have to pay for expensive amounts of bandwidth, that fee is paid for collectively by all of us when we pay our monthly Net bill.

"Ok, smarti-pants, back it up" you say.

During the last Superbowl, 2.6 million US Dollars were paid to air a 30 second commercial. with a total U.S. audience estimated to be around 150 million viewers. Curiously enough, that's around the same amount of money it cost to produce an entire season of the HBO show "Carnivale" which was cancelled due to high production costs. Season one averaged 3.54 million viewers across 12 episodes (42.48 million views) and Season 2 averaged 1.7 million viewers for 12 more (20.4 million views) In season one, with four embedded ads per show, there are as many or more views than a superbowl commercial.

This is JUST the people who watched it on HBO. This doesn't count DVD sales or pirated distribution. Television shows now have a long tail of viewership. Shows can get surges of popularity years after they have left the airwaves.

By this math, Two or three sponsors could have kept this show alive. And this was an abnormally expensive show to produce, yet also a show that won 5 of the 7 Emmys it was nominated for.

It comes down to a question of which is better. 150 million ad views by different people, or 150 million ad views by 20 or 40 million people who view the ad repeatedly. There is also the long tail of online distribution to think of. Ads embedded into TV shows would get viewed continuously as new people start watching the show long after the show has been ended. So money spent in advertising this way would continue to produce product recognition for a long long time.

Which is better, paying for a distribution model that cost millions to build and maintain, is operated by self-aggrandizing jackasses (Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch, etc) who think it is their personal vehicle to program you to think and act how they want you to, and is constantly cancelling shows to the disappointment of millions of loyal fans (Firefly, Carnivale, Surface, Heroes)??? Or is it better for production companies to cut out the middleman and put a server in the basement seeding their show on an officially sanctioned torrent with a legitimized tracker whereby they can keep accurate records of how many times the show was downloaded? Include a question before the download link as to how many people are expected to be viewing that copy, and you get accurate numbers with which to shop around to prospective sponsors.

This way of doing things lends itself to web based social networking buzz-building as well.

To the "Industry"

Stop trying to outlaw piracy. It is a part of global culture now. Embrace change and survive. Ignore change or try to legally regulate change and you'll go the way of the dodo. Learn to embed commercials in your web-based offerings in ways that are unobtrusive but effective.. Set up RSS feeds of sanctioned torrents for shows. If a show stops being economically viable on the air, look toward continuing the series via online only distribution. Realize that flash sucks balls. It really does. Streaming is expensive on your end and limits the visual quality NOT necessarily to the capabilities of the viewer's home theatre setup, but to the viewer's bandwidth capabilities. Torrents are cheap as the bandwidth cost gets borne by the viewers and you can host multiple files of your product (with corresponding differences in filesize) to further meet the needs of your viewers and hence remove the need for someone in the "scene" to re-encode your product for phones and ipods. One way or another, your way of life is ending. Embrace change and you will continue to play a part. Also, stop doing cocaine, your family is really worried about you.

To the production houses

Start learning to cut out the middle man. If the industry doesn't pick up your show, have your agent stop talking to NBC, ABC, FOX and HBO, and instead have them talk to McDonalds, PepsiCo, Sears, FedEx, and Toyota. Get in touch with your fanbase and stay in touch. Be good to your writing staff. Don't sign away your reproduction rights. Keep your options as open as you can. Do not agree to a clause in your contract that would prevent you from continuing your show by alternate means should a network decide they no longer wish to carry it. And for the love of Pete, unless you are writing a sitcom, have a freakin ending planned. The 4th season of Andromeda was a train wreck. Learn from it.

To the viewers

Get out there and check out the Web based shows. This stuff has already started happening, and you are missing out. There's some good shows already using this model. Google the word "vodcast" and you should be able to find something along these lines. Get involved. Support your favourite shows by buying their memorabilia and letting advertisers know that you appreciate what their dollars provide. Pay the extra 30 cents for the name brand if that name brand is supporting your show.

To the advertisers

Gather a team of people who can judge the viability of script ideas. Don't worry, lots of people with these skills will be out of work soon as the old media edifice starts to crumble. You are now in a position of greater power than you've ever been before. Don't screw it up. Good shows will be watched for decades. Thanks to the new media landscape, investments in direct sponsorship advertising have a very long tail of returns and brand recognition. It also gives a more positive mental association to the viewer if they know that watching the show is a gift made possible by your monetary contributions. Understand that with advertising, less is more. Get too gung-ho about making flashing banners that can't be ignored and someone will likely remove them from the product.

To pirates and "scene" people

If the industry and production houses do make changes like these, respect the shows and their sponsors and be forgiving of sideliner ads. If you enjoy watching shows, realize that making entertainment programming is expensive and the money has to come from somewhere. If you devalue the show to sponsors by removing all advertising material, then you are in effect hurting the possible longevity of the show. It'll get cancelled. You've seen it happen to shows you loved dearly. The more people embrace non-sanctioned, non-profitable distribution, the more good shows will die. We all love the Pirate Bay. But honestly, the Pirate bay has never had to pay to create any of the content that it purveys. Unless you want to watch re-runs forever, let the production companies make their money.

To the reader of this

Sorry I was so longwinded. It happens.

SSC #86 Long time no see!

2009-03-26T14:37:00.001-07:00

As I'm sure you're aware, I've not done the StraightShootinComputin article for a little while now. I feel I've covered most of the basics and some advanced topics. And while the computer industry may change fairly rapidly, for the needs of most of my readers, not enough changes to fill a weekly article. All of my past articles will still be available at http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com, and will continue to be indefinitely.

If you find something here that helps you with your computer, then I am glad it wasn't for nothing.

Good Luck, and happy computing!

Jeff Smith

SSC #85 A reader question

2009-01-09T16:40:00.001-08:00

Dear Mr. Smith:
I recently tried to upload a video to a website, and could not get it to go. I increased my web hosting space to 20GB and still could not get it to work. I'm sure how big the video is, but it is over an hour church service. Any information/advise would be appreciated.
Now I am looking at DVD burners and duplicators. What would you recommend that would duplicate videos of that size?
Thank you,

Hello reader,

It sounds like you have an interesting problem on your hands. I think that with a little more understanding on your part, you'll realize what is going wrong.

The first thing to understand is that video can come in a lot of different sizes for the same length. One hour of video can be as small as 300 megabytes, or as big as 10 or 20 gigabytes.   The size of the file is a result of the codecs used, the level of compression employed within the codec, and the bitrate of the video. Also the resolution of the video has a large part to play.

To define these terms, a codec is basically a system to encode or decode something. There are codecs for both audio and video. There are many different codecs for each. You're probably familiar with MP3 files, right? MP3's are just audio files encoded with the MP3 codec. When you play an MP3 on a computer or a portable device, the device uses the same codec to decode the file into an audio stream. A DVD player hooked up to your TV for instance uses the MPEG-2 video codec to decode the files on the disc and show you video.   Not all codecs are created equal. Some are better for some tasks than others.

Bitrate is a measurement of how many bits of information per second the file uses.    The higher the bitrate, the more data is used to render each second of video and/or audio. The more data used, the higher the quality, and at the same time, the bigger the file size. There's also something called variable-bitrate which allows the bitrate to change over time to adjust to the needs of the video. This makes it so that high-action scenes in the video get a higher bitrate and hence look less choppy, while scenes with little movement can use a lower bitrate to save space.

Compression is simply a way to crunch files down so that they are smaller. If I went through this letter and every time I used the word "the" I put a number 6 in its place then by the time I got to the end of the letter, I'd have saved a lot of keystrokes. I would just have to make sure to start out the letter by explaining that everywhere you see a 6, to mentally replace that with "the"... Compression works in the same way. By identifying repeating patterns of data within a file, and then using a system to reduce it.

Again, to relate to something you're likely to be familiar with, MP3 is a compressed audio format. If you were to uncompress a 4 megabyte MP3, you'd get about 20 to 25 megabytes of data.

Resolution is simply a measurement of how many pixels high and how many pixels wide the video is. A pixel of course is one colored dot that makes up the picture. Your computer monitor is likely displaying a resolution of about 800x600 or higher. For the sake of arguement, we'll assume 800x600. If you multipy the two numbers you get 480,000 pixels. Thats 480,000 little dots of color that get updated every time your screen changes. If each pixel only uses one bit of data for each change, then you're looking at 480k of data for each fullscreen change. And you want a decent framerate so that it doesn't look choppy, so around 30 frames per second. So 480k times 30 = 14,400k or 14.4 megabytes of data, for one second! or 843 megabytes for one minute or around 50 gigabytes for an hour. Thats huge!

Thats also uncompressed and assuming that every pixel changes throughout the entire video. But you can see that sizes can theoretically be very big, hopefully you'll also see that they don't have to be. By reducing the resolution to 400x300 you'd reduce the theoretical size to just 12 gigabytes. By using compression you'd reduce that to about 1 gigabyte or smaller. And by using a codec that doesn't change the color of pixels unless they need to be changed, you'd reduce it even further.

Ok, now that you have all of that to think about, I'll try to answer your question a little more directly. You should use a video converter to convert the file to a lower bitrate and use a more efficient codec. Depending on what you did the recording with, your video is likely in MPEG-2 format (suitable for DVD players). Converting it using something like the DivX or Xvid codecs could reduce the filesize by a factor of 10 if you choose an appropriate bitrate.

For hosting video on the web, you're going to want something that is small and easily downloaded. If you intend for it to be played in a web browser then you're going to want it to be a codec that facilitates that. I'm not sure what kind of website you're trying to use, but if the file is too big, people won't be able to stream it. And since you said it is an hour of church services, there's not likely to be a lot of action, or the need for hi-definition quality. So you can probably get away with a smaller resolution like 400x300 and a low bitrate (say around 500 or less). This should end up with a file that is small enough to for people to download quickly and possibly even stream with little or no choppiness.

There are lots of video conversion tools out there. You likely already have Windows Movie Maker on your computer, and this will convert it to a WMV video (WMV stands for the Windows Media Video codec) which is very common and widely used. Its very easy for beginners, but it only has the option of outputting to the WMV format, so you may find that it will not suit your needs if that codec is incompatible with what you're trying to do. If you want to use something a little more robust with more options and that can re-encode the video in a wide array of codecs, then try out MediaCoder which you can get free at http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/

MediaCoder is free and open source, and it will DEFINITELY re-encode your video into something you can use, though it may take a little more time to figure out how to use the program effectively.

As far as DVD burners, the capacity of recordable DVD's is 4.7 Gigabytes. To go higher than that you'll be getting into BluRay which can be very expensive and is something that the congregation is not likely to be able to play anyway unless you buy them all BluRay players. So in picking a DVD burner, go for speed and quality. I can't really recommend a single brand as they all have their successes and failures, I would just recommend you search online for some reviews on individual models before you buy. If you plan on using this to burn 10 or 20 copies at a time, it could wear out quickly if it's not built for heavy use.

If you use a program such as Nerovision Express to make the DVD it will re-encode the video to fit on the DVD, so filesize shouldn't be a problem so long as you don't expect to get 20 hours of video on a single disk.

If you try all of this and you still can't get it to upload to your site, you may have some networking issues or the site may just not allow that type of file.

I hope this helps!

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to http://www.straightshootincomputin.com

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

ssc #84 Abakt backup

2008-11-30T12:07:00.001-08:00

If you've ever lost valuable documents due to a computer crash or virus infection then today's article is for you. If you've ever been told by friends that you need to back up your files, but never found the time, then today's article is for you. If you've never had a problem and never saw a need to back up important data, then today's article is DEFINITELY for you.

Crashes happen. Files get lost every hour of every day due to viral infections, hardware failure, power fluctuations and just plain stupidity. If you've never lost any important files then either you're really lucky, or you just don't have any files that you consider important.

Today I'd like to share with you a very useful little program I found called Abakt.

Abakt is an open source backup utility. Essentially, you set up Abakt to copy your important files and folders to a specific location and then you can use the Windows Scheduler to make it back everything up on a regular basis.

Abakt has the ability to compress your files when it backs them up, and also can delete backups when they've become too old, making sure that your storage space isn't filled up with zip archives of out-dated data.

Another thing that Abakt can do is group a bunch of backup profiles into a group and then you can run them all by starting up the group.

Whats even better for those of the geek persuasion is that Abakt can be called by DOS commands. Essentially you can use a batch file (.bat) with all of your Abakt arguements and then use a command line email utility called Blat (http://www.blat.net/) to email you after the process is complete to let you know if everything went ok. If you use gmail you will need to use a program called "stunnel" (www.stunnel.org) which provides a secure ssl tunnel for blat to talk to Gmail.

You can get Abakt at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~edienske/abakt/

Below is an example of a batch file designed to run Abakt and then email me the results of the process.
---------------------
set BLAT="C:\Program Files\blat\blat.exe"
set ABAKT="C:\Program Files\Abakt\Abakt.exe"
set PROFILE=<the profile name you wish to use>
set GROUP=<the group name you wish to use>
set BODY="<put in the full path to a .txt message you'd like included in your email>"
set HOME=C:\Documents and Settings\<your user name>
set LOGFILE1="%HOME%\Application Data\Abakt\Log\%GROUP%.log"
set LOGFILE2="%HOME%\Application Data\Abakt\Log\%PROFILE%.log"
set TOEMAIL=intendedaddress@wherever.com
set FROMEMAIL=youraccountaddress@wherever.com

@rem == This next line prepares Blat with your email server
%BLAT% -install smtp.gmail.com %EMAIL%

@rem == This line actually starts up Abakt
@rem== If you want to use a profile it should be "%PROFILE%".abp
%ABAKT% -b -x -l -m "%GROUP%".abg

goto result%ERRORLEVEL%
:result0
     @rem OK (0x00)
    set BACKUPA=FilesCopied_OK
        @goto end

:result2
    @rem OK+WARNING (0x02)
    set BACKUPA=Files_Copied_With_errors
    @goto end

:result1
    @rem ERROR (0x01)

:result3
    @rem ERROR+WARNING (0x03)
    set BACKUPA=File_Copy_FAILED
    @goto end
:end

@rem==this line actually sends the email
%BLAT% %BODY% -s "%BACKUPA%" -to %TOEMAIL% -f %FROMEMAIL% -server 127.0.0.1 -port 25 -u <email_username> -pw <email_password>

I hope thats helpful to some of you. I've sure found it to be a great program.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to http://www.straightshootincomputin.com

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

SSC #83 Splashtop

2008-11-23T15:17:00.001-08:00

There's a new technology on its way and if you blink, you might just miss it.

Splashtop is just one instance of a new quick booting technology that the motherboard manufacturer ASUS is putting on all its new offerings.

The purpose of Splashtop is to provide a fast booting simplified desktop with a few essential aplications. Its not designed to replace a full operating system, but instead it allows you to turn your machine on and within a few seconds have access to a web browser, Skype webphone, and possibly more.

Splashtop will run in read-only mode, which means you won't be able to make changes to it or install new applications, but it also means you won't be able to mess it up.

For laptop users on the go, this means you'll be able to boot up very quickly into a low power desktop that you can use to get online, check your mail and shut down before a full operating system would get fully booted up.

For home users, this means that if your desktop suddenly catches the flu and refuses to start up, you have an emergency system that you can use to get online and find out what to do to get it up and running again.

The reason I said if you blink you might miss it is that its likely that this will be an option that you have to select at boot time by pressing a specific key or key combo. Without selecting it, it won't come up. And if you never see it, you may not even know that it is there.

ASUS is leading the pack on this technology, but its doubtful that they'll be the only one to release products featuring it. Other companies may not call it Splashtop, but it will be very similar.

This technology promises to have lots of potential for future applications. Assuming just a few more advances in Virtual Machine technology, a Splashtop VM Manager seems not only inevitable, but undoubtedly awesome. If you're geek enough to understand what this means, you'll no doubt agree to its usefulness.

All in all, Splashtop is definitely a technology to watch, and buy, when it becomes available in the coming months.

Oh, and did I mention that Splashtop is Linux based? Yeah. Its that cool.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to http://www.straightshootincomputin.com

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

SSC #82 Net Neutrality

2008-11-16T16:03:00.001-08:00

Many of you have probably heard the term "Net Neutrality" bandied about on the news lately. A lot of people seem to be talking about it, but not many are showing signs that they really understand what it is all about.

Net Neutrality is a concept that the internet should be nothing more than a set of "dumb pipes" that transfer data from one point to another. They should not give precedence to one transfer over another, and that the internet should not block traffic or deliberately slow traffic going across it.

This is how the internet works as of right now, and in the past.

At odds with this concept are the companies who collectively provide internet service to all of us. Complaining of network congestion and an inability to reliably offer promised speeds to their customers, they claim that giving some traffic preferential treatment over other traffic is not only desirable, but necessary.

If Network Neutrality is not upheld, there could be many consequences as a result of its downfall. ISPs could begin to offer tiered priority schemes to different content providers. This would, for instance, allow companies offering paid services (such as Netflix's movie streaming service) to gain a higher priority over the video conference you're having with your sister in Oregon. It wouldn't just stop at legitimate services like Netflix though. It would be something that would be offered to any company paying the price. Full motion video advertisements would begin loading faster than the text based web pages on which they resided.

And as a result, our collective bandwidth would suffer.

This also means that any new high-bandwidth services starting up that couldn't afford the internet fast lane would hardly be able to compete since their service would appear choppy and slow.

Another possible outcome would be that you wouldn't necessarily be able to do wherever you want to with your internet connection. You may have to pay one amount for web browsing, and another amount of money for chat or email. Transferring files or encrypted data may be something else entirely.

Really there's no way of knowing how it would eventually end up. But one thing is for sure... once Net Neutrality is broken, things will only get worse for the end user.

While I understand that it is a hard task to manage a congested network, the answer lies not in abolishing Net Neutrality. The answer lies in abolishing spam (which accounts for far too much of internet traffic) and in adopting new faster technologies.

In America we have the privilege of having one of the first country-wide information networks. And while this might be a mark of pride for some, when you think about it, its one of the things that is holding us back. Countries that did not build their information networks until recently got to take advantage of newer and better technologies that did not exist when our own was built.

Many technologies have come to light since our nation's network was built. But either by overbearing regulation or simple ignorance, they never seem to manifest for our use.

One thing that is for sure is that Net Neutrality is something that we should all keep an eye on. It is the internet equivalent of free speech. While the corporations may own the networks, they were paid for using our monthly service subscriptions. And the corporations should keep in mind that if they take away the freedom that makes the internet what it is, they'll find a lot of those subscriptions canceled. Mine included.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to http://www.straightshootincomputin.com

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

SSC #81 DropBox

2008-11-09T09:07:00.001-08:00

   I've been pretty busy lately, and it's been hard to find time to write, but fear not, I'm still here.

   Today I wanna tell you about a new utility I heard about on the LottaLinuxLinks podcast: DropBox.

   DropBox is a great tool for syncing files between multiple computers. Essentially it works by setting up a special folder on your machines that will sync to eachother. First, install DropBox on all of your machines. Then, if you put a picture or document into the DropBox on one computer, it will show up in the DropBox on all your other computers. Its a great way to move files between work and home without any disks or thumbdrives to carry around with you... a no-fuss solution to a common problem.

   But it can be used in other ways as well. Say for instance that you want to share pictures with your relatives. If you set up a family DropBox, and install it on your relative's computers, then you simply drag and drop files into the DropBox and it will show up in their DropBox shortly thereafter.

   Its not a complicated looking affair, in fact it looks just like a normal folder on your desktop. It really can't be easier than this!

   DropBox also has a public component that allows you to designate files to be accessible publicly. Public files can be accessed through a web page from any computer in the world, whether DropBox is installed or not! Its a great way to make a small cache of highly accessible personal files. If you'd like something to be accessible globally, but you're worried about someone getting hold of sensitive files, simply compress the files in a password protected archive before making them public. Then, while anyone will be able to get the archive, they won't be able to open it.

   I am sure you can think of more ways to use something like this... just go to www.getdropbox.com and download it.
Its cross-platform meaning it has versions available for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. And they can all sync up with eachother.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to http://www.straightshootincomputin.com

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

SSC #80 Duo-County Internet Speedup

2008-10-26T07:55:00.001-07:00

In a surprising move, Duo-County Telephone has drastically raised their internet speeds.

Customers of Duo-County woke up a few days ago to faster downloads and faster loading web pages. Originally some thought it was a glitch, but it turns out that Duo-County has indeed increased their broadband speeds across the board.

If you previously had Fastnet DSL Lite or Viewnet Cable Lite, you were accustomed to a download speed cap of 384kbps. After applying the Windows Math to it (divide by 8), what you ended up seeing was around 48K download speeds in your machine. The new speed for the service plan is 1.5Mbit, or 1,536kbps... four times what you got before, and twice what you used to get for the next tier up. Now your top speed (in Windows Math) will be around 192K.

If you had their regular Fastnet DSL or Viewnet Cable you previously had speeds of 768kbps / 96K, but now you're enjoying a whopping 4Mbit service. Thats 4096kbps aka 512K download speed. Thats 5 and a third times faster than what you got before! Apparently a little competition is a good thing.

From what I hear, there's a four dollar cost increase associated with these upgrades, but honestly thats not too bad considering the impressive speed boost. Now all of those streaming web TV services should work just fine... no more stuttering youtube videos!

I'm not one much for corporations or corporate types, but I do give credit where credit is due. Duo-County has done their customers a great service here. Now Russell County speeds are much closer in line with what you'd get in Lexington or Louisville, and thats pretty impressive.

I've heard no word yet from Vortex Wireless on how they plan to react to this new development, but if and when I do I'll be sure to pass it along.

Residential FastNET DSL Internet

1.5 Mbps download speeds (256 Kbps Upload).
$33.95 per month.

4 Mbps download speeds (256 Kbps Upload)
$49.95 per month.

Residential ViewNET Cable Internet

ViewNET 1.5 - 1.5 Mbps Download and 256 Kbps Upload Speed:
$33.95 per month.

ViewNET 4 - 4 Mbps Download and 256 Kbps Upload Speed:
$39.95 per month.

$100 Installation Charge applies to new installations.

Questions/Comments -- www.StraightShootinComputin.com

SSC #79 Don't use Antivirus XP 2008

2008-10-05T09:27:00.001-07:00

Theres a new spyware/virus combo that is sweeping the unwary net-surfing population of Russell County.

Several times now people have brought machines to me complaining of strange behavior and unexplained lockups. The cause of all this is a fake anti-virus program called Antivirus XP 2008. This is often installed by a trusting individual after reading terror-ridden warning messages in pop-up ads. Essentially its like Iraq... they claim your computer has weapons of mass destruction so as to scare you to the point of stupidity, and in response you give them the keys to come in and wreck the place.

The advertisements are bogus, the program is bogus. It does a fake scan and gives lots of scary fraudulent results and then asks you to purchase the program so that it can remove all of the so-called threats. All the while, behind the scenes, it is installing viruses and possibly even a rootkit. So, if they've done all of this, do you think these are the kind of people you should give your credit card info to?

Paying for this program would be a mistake of grand proportions! Buying antivirus software from pop-up ads is like buying antibiotics from a stranger in a dark alley. Common sense should tell you that its a bad idea.

But being gullible isn't the only way that this program gets in though, in some cases it has seemingly installed itself onto computers that have no protection whatsoever whenever the user browses to less than reputable sites. So if you're running around the net unprotected, chances are this little bugger will just show up all on its own.

On newly infected machines, often this software can be disabled by running Avast Antivirus boot-time scan (or another good quality antiviral program), but in instances where it is entrenched, there's little choice but to offload important files, and then completely wipe and reinstall the operating system. Its very hard to tell just how far a system has been infected, so in most cases its safest to wipe and re-install. Also, any files that are taken off the machine should be scanned by a reliable anti-virus program.

If you've somehow got this software on your machine, you need to do something about it as soon as possible.

You can find removal instructions here:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/malware-removal/remove-antivirus-xp-2008

And if you don't feel confident that you can remove it yourself, you're welcome to give me a call.

See ya next week!

Jeff Smith
www.straightshootincomputin.com

SSC #78 A great deal!

2008-09-28T12:09:00.001-07:00

Sorry I missed writing last week, I was pretty worn out from Software Freedom Day.

I'd love to tell you all that it went great, but it didn't. Hardly anyone bothered to show up, despite all my efforts at advertising. We were ready to go at around 10am, and we stayed til around 4pm. Most people that came by were just wanting to pay their cellphone bills.

Now I could rant and rave at everyone for not showing, but I think instead I'll just take it as a sign that Russell County is not interested in silly little things like freedom. I doubt I'll be doing anything similar next year. It was too much stress and the results were too depressing.

So instead I'm going to tell you about a good deal.

Right now, you can go to www.Walmart.com and buy a pre-installed Linux computer for $210, tax included. They're made by a company called Everex, and they run gOS, a version of Linux. If you have them ship it to the local Walmart, shipping is free.

This is a great deal! $210 buys you a tower with:
1.5GHz VIA C7-D processor
512MB DDR2 memory
80GB Hard Drive
DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive
Keyboard
2-Button Scroll Mouse
stereo speakers - USB powered

The case has frontside USB ports as well as frontside headphone and mic jacks.

Make no mistake, this is not a powerhouse. Its not a gaming machine. This is a cheap machine for basic/average usage. If all you do online is surf the internet, do email, and chat, this is for you. It plays DVD movies, and can burn CDs. It also has some simple games like solitaire and such.

This is a great machine for a light user, a new user, or as a 2nd computer or student computer. All you'll need is a monitor since it comes with everything else.

And if you find that you don't like the gOS operating system, you're fully capable of replacing it with Windows XP or Ubuntu or whatever you fancy.

I had some hands-on time with this machine yesterday. And to be truthful, I wasn't too impressed with the gOS operating system. If I were to buy one I'd replace it with Ubuntu, but that's just me. But for the price, you get a complete system (minus a monitor) and thats a deal I just felt I should pass along. If you want to get a monitor with it, the price goes up to $328.

They do not sell these at the local stores, you can only buy them online. And if you don't like the $200 model there are others as well, including laptops and mini-laptops. And all of these models are priced lower than what you find with Vista installed.

Until next week, take care of eachother!

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://www.straightshootincomputin.com

I live in Russell County. If you do too and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

SSC #77 Software Freedom Day 2008

2008-09-14T01:32:00.001-07:00

Hope to see everyone there!

SSC #76 Fair Software Practices

2008-09-06T07:42:00.001-07:00

A good portion of the open source community has got their eyes trained on a legal matter in Canada. FACIL, a Quebec based open-source software group has filed a lawsuit against the Quebec government claiming unfair practices. In Quebec there are laws on the books that stipulate that the government must take bids and do cost assessment when dealing with contractors. But apparently, when deciding to spend an estimated $80 million dollars on upgrades to Vista and assorted Microsoft software this year alone, no assessments were made, and no competitive bids were entertained. While this is the first lawsuit like this that I've heard of, if it is successful, it is doubtful that it will be the last.

Closer to home, the Russell County Court House (at least the Circuit Court Clerk's office) is preparing to upgrade to Microsoft Vista. This will likely entail the purchasing of new computer towers, licensed copies of Microsoft Vista, as well as assorted Office software. At a speculative cost ranging from $800 per desktop to possibly as high as $2500 per desktop, depending on what they're going to buy, you can start to see how the dollars add up really fast.

But truly I don't suggest that one county out of the whole state should move to Linux. There is undoubtedly software that is in use state-wide that they would need to be able to interface with. It is doubtful that Linux equivalents to their criminal database and vehicle licensing software exists under Linux. And while there's a possibility that these may in fact run under the Windows emulator, WINE, its not guaranteed.

Given that Windows Vista is so bloated that even today's high end hardware runs as sluggishly as what they currently use, as well as the cost of retraining the workers to deal with any differences brought on by the upgrade, the only reason for upgrading is to continue to receive security updates from Microsoft. Government offices do not typically add loads and loads of new applications in a given year. The same stuff they're doing today is likely the same stuff they'll be doing five years from now. If not for the sad state of Windows security and the ever present need for them to fix the holes in it, there would scarcely be a reason to go to Vista. And if Vista was not such a blatant system resource hog, there'd be no reason to upgrade the hardware.

Essentially, this upgrade is happening for the plain and simple fact that Microsoft has abandoned Windows XP. This in and of itself is would not be such a big deal if the replacement they have for it were not so terrible.

Despite the current dismal state of the economy, Microsoft, still one of the richest organizations in the entire world, believes that we should all upgrade immediately and with great haste. I for one refuse to drink the kool-aid on this one.

Companies contemplating the move to Vista should weigh their options. There's more to computers than just Microsoft. There's also Mac, and Linux, and BSD, and Unix, and Solaris and some more options I'm not even aware of. Checking out the field is common sense. And in Canada, its the law. Without competition, innovation is diminished if not extinguished.

The feeling that there is no real choice is something that Microsoft has worked very hard to cultivate. Why? Because they plan on STAYING one of the richest organizations in the world.

By the time this comes out in print, it will be one week and two days until Software Freedom Day. If you want to get away from Microsoft and their bullying, bring your computer tower and/or laptop down to the Sprint store in Russell Springs on September 20th. Its a non-profit event, staffed completely by volunteers. It will cost you nothing and could gain you a lot. I hope to see you there! You won't need to bring a mouse, monitor or keyboard. We'll have those on hand.

Oh, there's been some confusion about where I am located. My phone number is based in Somerset, but I live in Russell Springs. Grandcentral.com, my phone forwarding service, did not have any local numbers. Hope that clears up any confusion.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://www.straightshootincomputin.com

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

SSC #75 They're not teachers, they're pushers!

2008-08-29T20:54:00.001-07:00

I am so mad right now I can barely see straight. So far three people have come up to me asking how to open the new Microsoft Office 2007 file formats on their current machines.

Apparently, teachers at the local colleges have switched to MS Office 2007 and they've decided that you should to. Some teachers are distributing assignments in the new format and their unwitting students are now forced to shell out between $85 and $150 for the new MS Office Home and Student 2007 edition. But wait, it gets worse. Some are mistakenly paying more for other versions of the same software (possibly up to around $480 for the MS Office Ultimate 2007 Upgrade) when the Home and Student version isn't available at the store. We're talking about an suite of office software that has the gall to charge $200 just for language packs.

Does anyone still have any questions as to why I dislike Microsoft so very very much??

The one talent that Microsoft has demonstrated time and time again is not the ability to make great software, but instead the ability to make bloated locked-down drivel and make everyone pay through the nose for it!

I can understand making students buy this software if the class is called Learning Office 2007, or something like that, but no... these are just general computing classes. General. Computing. Classes.

I've got it! I've solved the whole national educational funding dilemma! Teachers should start earning a commission for sales! They're obviously doing the work of a massive sales force, they should get compensated for their hard work and treachery.

Teachers. Listen up. Stop it. If you don't have to use proprietary formats, then DON'T DO IT. OpenOffice is a full suite of software that will read and write to open formats that are not locked down from anyone. Open office will also read and write to all of the old Microsoft formats. And OpenOffice is just one of many free and effective solutions.

After the big fight a little while back that Microsoft put up just to get their Office Open XML format accepted as a 2nd and unnecessary standard, you'd think they'd be a little more forthcoming with their new formats. But no. They're laying out the trough and we're all supposed to pony up the dough so we can lap it up.

Are you really happy with your Microsoft Windows? About 80% of you probably just said "No". If you're not happy, then why in the world would you want to support them financially? If you keep feeding the monster, it will still be around next time to bite you where it hurts.

If you only teach someone how to use Microsoft software, then that is all they will ever know how to use. This creates a mental dependency and allows a certain company to continually and unendingly put out high-priced junk. Then three or five years later Microsoft decides to do it all over again.

People aren't buying Microsoft Office 2007 because they think it is great software, they're buying it because they have to. This is the definition of a monopoly. And its the teachers who are enforcing this monopoly power.

If you teach someone a wide variety of software--even if it is all for the same task--then they learn the fundamental concepts involved, not just the specific locations of options and tasks in one single solitary program. One single solitary program that they'll just make obsolete in five years anyway for the sole reason of making more money from all of us sheep.

People go to school to learn how to make more money. When they're going to school, they generally don't have that much of it. If they had loads of money, they'd probably not be in school, they'd be out having fun spending it. This practice is bordering on extortion, and its perpetrated against a group of people who are doing all they can do to better themselves. Teachers engaging in this practice should be ashamed.

Teach Microsoft Office. By all means, teach it. But don't JUST teach that. And do NOT expect everyone to buy it. Do NOT treat it as gospel. Distribute assignments in an open format so that people can use whatever software they like to use at home. If they're taking a class that is specifically centered around MS Office 2007, then its a completely understandable requirement. But don't increase the coffers of a malignant company for no good reason other than that you upgraded to the new version because you heard they finally got rid of that stupid talking paperclip.

Stop being a pusher. Otherwise, teachers, you need to get in touch with Microsoft Corporation at (425) 882-8080 and ask them where your check is. Its obvious that you're working for them, you're just not getting paid.

Students, I'm not sure about the other formats, but you can use an online converter to convert the 2007 .docx format to the older .doc files. You can find it at http://docx-converter.com/

There may be converters for the other ones, so you don't necessarily have to give in. Geeks all over the world are working on your behalf, so just be patient. Alternately, you could simply tell your teacher just how unfair these new formats are. If enough of you ask, maybe they'll come to their senses.

For ANYONE needing a good FREE office suite, if you're not locked into Office 2007 by boneheaded practices, go to www.openoffice.org

From their site: "OpenOffice.org 2 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages"--more than 18--"and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose."

And if you would like to get away from Microsoft COMPLETELY, come down to the Sprint store in Russell Springs on Saturday, September 20th. Bring your tower and you can get free installation, configuration, and customization of Ubuntu Linux, as well as free software for Windows, including OpenOffice. Its all virus free, spyware free, and cost free folks. Avail yourself of this chance at freedom while you can.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://www.straightshootincomputin.com

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

SSC #74 Many different ways to use Linux

2008-08-24T07:34:00.001-07:00

What many people at first fail to grasp about Linux is that it is all about choice.

You can choose between more than 400 different Linux distrobutions. You can choose to create your own. You can choose to change how your Linux works.... how it looks... how it acts.

You can make one or all of a thousand different choices to customize your Linux to your needs. But you DON'T have to choose to give up Microsoft Windows to do it.

Linux can be installed in many different ways. Just like Windows, it can be installed to be the only Operating System in your computer. But, it can also be installed in a dual boot configuration which allows you to KEEP Windows installed and working just like it is.

There are two different ways that you can choose from to accomplish this.     The easiest way is to use Wubi. You can use the new Wubi installer that comes on the Ubuntu 8.04 discs to install Linux into a virtual harddrive, which is basically just a file in your Windows folders.

Wubi works great and its an awesome way to give Ubuntu a try. You simply start up your computer, boot up Windows, and put in the CD. A box will pop up giving you some options, one of which will be to install it in Windows. All you have to put in is your user name and password, and decide how much space to give Ubuntu to use. The installer handles the rest very easily. It also uninstalls very easily from the Add/Remove Programs feature found in Windows Control Panel.

The only problems with the Wubi method are that by installing from within Windows, you have essentially made Linux depend on Windows being able to keep itself working properly. If your Windows has errors on the disk, then the Wubi Ubuntu installation can't boot up.    Another problem is that with Vista, Microsoft has apparently tried to block the usage of Wubi. Vista kicks the Ubuntu disk out halfway through the install and messes everything up. This seems to have been an intentional move by Microsoft since Vista only starts doing that after it receives its updates.   You can get around this by copying the wubi.exe file from the disk to your desktop and running it from there.

So while Wubi is an excellent way of trying out Ubuntu Linux, its not desirable as a permanent installation since it relies on Windows not to mess things up. Windows is the weak link in the chain... refraining from messing things up is not something that it is known for.    An install that has its own partition doesn't have to rely on Windows. In a partitioned install, Windows can be infected with viruses and torn to shreds, yet Ubuntu will still boot up just fine and dandy.

If you just want to try out Linux without actually installing, you can simply put the CD in and reboot your machine. The CD will boot up into a Live mode. This Live mode allows you to use Ubuntu without installing anything at all... it doesn't change a single file on your computer. You can play with the applications, you can browse the net. You can do all sorts of stuff. And if you reboot and take out the disk, Windows will boot right up as though nothing ever happened.

Be aware that Live mode needs a decent amount of RAM to run. I've gotten it to run with around 390 or so MB of RAM, but generally at least 512MB is recommended, and the more you have the faster Live mode will run. Don't base your opinion on the speed of Ubuntu by how it runs in Live mode. It will run faster once it is installed.

Also note that changes you make in Live mode are not permanent. You can mess with stuff and reboot into Live mode again and everything is just like it was originally. Its a great way to get familiar with things.

If you decide you like Ubuntu enough to install it, there's an "Install" icon on the desktop where you can re-partition and put Ubuntu Linux on your computer permanently. This installer also has the option of getting rid of Windows completely. So do be careful to read everything as you go through it.

Simply put, re-partitioning is re-configuring the way your harddrive is laid out. By squishing Windows to the side a little bit, you can free up some space to make room for Linux. Much like using room partitions to make one room into two smaller ones, your harddrive can handle many partitions, but doing so does not increase its overall size.

Note that if your Windows drive has errors, you won't be able to re-size its partition until you've successfully shut Windows down properly. Also, if your drive is already full, you won't be able to repartition it until you've freed up some space.

As you can see, there are many ways to use Ubuntu Linux along side Microsoft Windows. You don't have to give up everything you are familiar with, and you can learn your way around Ubuntu at your own pace and retreat to familiar ground when you feel the need. You can have your cake, and eat it too.

If you're interested in getting Ubuntu but you're not sure about all this installation stuff, come on down to the Russell County Software Freedom Day event which will be located at the Sprint store next to Papa John's Pizza on September 20th and bring your computer along with you. Volunteers will be on hand to help you and its free for everyone.

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
www.straightshootincomputin.com

SSC #73 Time to face the change

2008-08-17T09:56:00.001-07:00

Change can be a stressful thing. And fear of change can be a big factor in whether or not a person will embrace something new. Much in the same way that people can manage hold onto an abusive relationship for years on end, despite myriads of people telling them they should leave, people still continue to use an operating system that abuses their trust.

While Linux hasn't exactly permeated our culture, bashing Microsoft and complaining about Windows seems to be something that is so widespread that its a wonder there isn't an Olympic event. If there were, I'm sure I'd have more medals than Michael Phelps. Its commonly agreed upon that Windows is not all it is cracked up to be. The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error screen has been integrated into pop culture to the point where people take snapshots of it in the oddest of places. Just search google images for BSOD and you'll see the most famous error screen of all time on those giant screens at Times Square, even at the Olympics torch lighting ceremony.

We can all agree, pretty much without reservation, that Microsoft Windows is bad. Its buggy, its full of security holes that viruses just slip right through, there are hidden "features" that compromise your computer's security and allow outside agencies to snoop on your machine. There are a lot of problems, but still people refrain from changing. The bruises still haven't healed from the last time Windows came in drunk, reeking of viruses, emailed all your friends to tell them about some shady stock tips and crashed on the coffee table destroying all your files. But people just aren't brave enough to put their foot down and kick Windows to the curb.

Life with Linux IS different. It is a change. And I'll be honest, for many people its very uncomfortable at first. The more you know about Windows, the more you'll feel out of place when you get rid of it. The icons don't look the same, the menus are different, you may not be able to use your favorite programs. You could be the most knowledgeable Windows geek in fifty miles, and when you boot into Linux for the first time, you'll feel like a complete moron. This is natural. This is change.

The less you know about Windows, the easier the transition is. But if you are a Windows power user, you've likely built up some skills that deal with finding information. While a switching from being a Windows noobie to a Linux noobie isn't that uncomfortable, they're still noobies when all is said and done. They have simple needs and so long as these needs are met, they're happy. And there's nothing wrong with that. I don't subscribe to the philosophy that everyone needs to be a computer genius. Not knowing is ok. But it won't feel okay for a Windows power user. Transitioning will be slower. There's much more to relearn. Many more skills that need to be translated. But speaking as a Windows power user who has taken the time and effort to make the switch, it is so totally worth it. There is help in abundance. The internet is quite actually teeming with support. From IRC chat channels to online forums to community LUG meetings, the answers to your questions are out there. And you can use the informational search skills that you've built up in the Windows world to steadily increase your Linux knowlege and slowly wean yourself from Windows one application, one neat hack, one cool trick at a time.

By the time this reaches print there will be less than a month until Software Freedom Day. On September 20th I invite anyone and everyone to come down and give Linux a try. Whether you're a power user or not, we will customize Linux to your needs. We will make sure you know where to get help. Change IS frightening, but you won't be alone. You won't have to worry about viruses or BSOD's anymore. You'll be free from the abusive relationship you've had with Windows in the past and you can start to enjoy your computer without all of the fear and uncertainty that many of you have come to accept as just part of owning a computer. Its a new day. Be free and enjoy it.

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://www.straightshootincomputin.com

SSC #72 About last year

2008-08-10T15:25:00.001-07:00

Be ready! Its coming back!

No, I'm not talking about the McRib Sandwich (but if you see that THOSE are back, be sure and let me know), I'm talking about Software Freedom Day 2008! Not to be discouraged by last year's lackluster response from the community-at-large, we're signed up again to go out into the world yet again and pass out free software in an attempt to spread software freedom across the globe.

Last year, over 300 teams in over 60 countries participated worldwide in an attempt to help people to escape from the dreary world of proprietary software. No longer must you put up with serial-key codes, trial-versions or annoying "unlock-me! I only cost $199.95" messages. No more electronic guilt-trips imploring you incessantly to upgrade to the "Pro" version.

Software Freedom Day 2008 will be celebrated on Saturday, September 20th and I'll be stepping out of the newspaper pages and into the street to meet with YOU, dear reader. I will be passing out free CD's of Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron as well as The Open Disk project (a disk full of Free Open Source Software or "FOSS" for Windows), Linux Mint 5, and Inferno Linux (an offshoot Fire Hydrant Linux, which is an offshoot of Puppy Linux 2.17). I will also have copies of the very handy BoothCD, aka the Firefox Kiosk disk. And I might possibly even have some copies of the Linux Gamer DVD on hand at request which is a great disk pre-loaded with great Linux compatible games that you can just boot and play.

I will be doing my best to have a computer available for people to see Linux in action so they know that just because something is free, doesn't mean it's worthless. Sometimes you get what you pay for... but this isn't one of those times.

Right now, though, I need your help. In the Open Source community, there is a saying... "Everyone can help in some way." If you are already a Linux user and want to help spread the word by handing out CD's and flyers, drop me a line or give me a call and come and help directly. More hands means more stuff being handed out. And if flagging down passers-by is not your cup of tea, you can help by telling someone else about what we're doing.

Last year, the biggest problem we had was that people are afraid of the word "Free." At least ten different people accused us of trying to sell something. They insisted that there was a catch somewhere, no matter how fervently we assured them that there wasn't. Apparently, people have gotten to the sad state where not only will they not stand up and shout for what they believe in, but apparently they don't think that anyone else will either. When the word "Free" can't be trusted, what does that have to say about "The land of the Free"? Anyway, I digress.

Software Freedom is not about Freedom in the sense that it costs nothing, (it does cost nothing, but that isn't the point) its about Freedom in the sense that it is used to describe "Free Speech". Geeks across the world have banded together to fight what they believe to be an unfairly closed system of political and economic oppression. Microsoft is just one company that partakes of this, but it is not the only one. And if there are any Apple/Mac lovers out there, don't think that Apple is any better. In fact, when it comes to proprietary closed systems, Apple is worse than Microsoft ever thought about being. You can't even get a Mac unless you buy it from Apple. If you try to build one yourself, you're breaking the law.

In the early dawn of computers, the software was always free. It was a means to sell more machines. But somewhere along the line, things went sour. Now we live in a world where software is installed via virus embedded in a pop-up ad, which then relentlessly hounds you to send in money to "Unlock" its full features. Software that lies to you and tells you that your computer has hundreds of errors and/or viruses which conveniently it can fix, if you'll just type in your credit card number. Aren't you sick of not being able to trust your own computer?

It goes beyond freedom and such esoteric ideals. This is also about security. According to Symantec, the makers of Norton Antivirus, there are now over 1 million windows viruses. Thats one million viruses designed to cause havoc with your machine. Thats one million viruses that Linux is not vulnerable to.

If you take a freshly installed Windows XP machine and put it on the net, without installing protections first, the average time before it is compromised is about 18 minutes. Only eighteen minutes before your computer is a spam-slinging member of a botnet. Eighteen minutes until your machine, that you paid good money for, is now working for someone else.

While Vista has made some great inroads to correcting these problems, recent discoveries are putting Microsoft's new operating system under the same light. Viruses are already showing up for Vista and more are undoubtedly on the way as hackers across the world deconstruct it and figure out how it ticks. Every mistake that Microsoft makes is another hole in your security. Every typo or poorly designed function is an opportunity for your machine to be compromised.

With all of the mistakes and hidden agenda's Microsoft has had in the past, are they really the kind of company that you want to support?

Its time to be done with all of that. Its time for something better.

Essentially, Software Freedom is about the belief that all of us together can make better software than what comes from all of us paying a few people to do it. By the people, for the people. That sort of thing.

I'll be covering this topic for the next few weeks, outlining the plans in motion for the event. I've already received a couple of offers from volunteers in Lexington, but as of yet, I don't think it is enough for the job at hand. So if you'd like to help, either by donating your time, money for needed supplies, or by allowing us to set up at your business location, or even if it is just by telling a few friends that there really isn't a catch to this whole Free Software thing, as they say, everyone can help in some way. Take control of your computer. Before someone else does.

For more information, go to http://www.softwarefreedomday.org.
If you'd like to see a map of all of the SFD teams, go to
http://cgi.softwarefreedomday.org/map.shtml

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
www.straightshootincomputin.com

SSC #71 Its Linux and its Minty Fresh!

2008-07-27T20:54:00.001-07:00

This week I'd like to talk to you about Linux Mint. I think I may have mentioned it a few months ago, but I'd like to give it the proper treatment this week. So without further ado, I present to you, dear reader, Linux Mint 5, codenamed Elyssa.

One thing you must understand about Linux is that due to its open nature, anyone can use the sourcecode from an entire operating system. It is sometimes slightly frowned upon, such as in the case of CentOS repackaging and redistrobuting pretty much the entire RedHat operating system. While there's nothing official and no-one is getting sued, some have questioned if CentOS is hurting RedHat's business. CentOS is free, RedHat is a commercial distrobution that charges money for its newest edition, as well as for support. One could argue that CentOS is eating RedHat's lunch, but as CentOS isn't making money from doing this, nor is it providing professional support channels, those who use CentOS would likely have gone for a free distrobution in any case. Its just something that comes along with being Open Source.

Based on Ubuntu, Linux Mint is a re-branded and repackaged offshoot with many very nice improvements. It started out simply as just Ubuntu with audio/video codecs added in, but its grown beyond that by quite a bit. While it started out as just a pet project by one man in his spare time--and really, it still is just a pet project by one man in his spare time--with the help of the communty of users he has gathered, its become quite well rounded and has improved upon Ubuntu in many ways.

Unlike the case of CentOS and RedHat, Ubuntu has not shown any hard feelings at all about the existence of Linux Mint (nor any of the other offshoots). Ubuntu is free, and Canonical only seeks to make money by providing professional support services. Being that Ubuntu itself has pretty much the same repackaging/improvement relationship between themselves and their parent distro, Debian, there's not much really they could say.

Anyway, on with the story.

I decided recently that I wanted to wipe my laptop and re-install Ubuntu. I had been using the same installation for over a year, and while it had started out with 7.04 Feisty Fawn, I had upgraded it to 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon, and then a couple months ago, 8.04 Gutsy Gibbon. I had upgraded through the automatic upgrade tool, and while it still worked fine for me, I felt that it might run a little better if I were to wipe and start again. The reason for this is that I tend to do a lot of tinkering around with things in keeping with the learning process and I had tinkered with a few things I should probably had read more about first. So it was sluggish. Easy enough to fix. I backed up my home folder and some other files from around my system that I thought I would need (specifically /lib/firmware where my wireless card drivers resided).

I was in the process of reaching for my trusty Ubuntu install disk, and suddenly recalled having downloaded the Linux Mint ISO (disk image). Figuring I would just install it for long enough to give it a test drive for review purposes, I popped it in and installed Linux Mint 5. At first look, it seemed to be just like Ubuntu with a couple visual upgrades, no big deal. But then I started to notice little changes... small details and improvements.

If you have ever driven a luxury car (not that I can afford one, but I've driven one a time or two) you notice that for the most part its just like a regular car. It has the same controls--gas pedal, brake pedal, steering wheel, shifter--where the "luxury" part comes in is in the small details and little amenities that make you feel like you're in a well-crafted machine.

Linux Mint is like that. Attention has been paid to the small details to make the user experience just that little cut above the rest.

So I went about setting the desktop up in my own fashion, and installed the software that I have come to rely on. About a month ago, I set about learning how Ubuntu's software repositories worked and I took all of the .deb software packages that I had downloaded and put them in a relatively small (4 gigabytes) software repository served out across my home network. This allows me to quickly and efficiently set up a freshly installed machine in about half an hour, much quicker than downloading software and updates for each machine.

I was relieved to learn that Linux Mint was not changed enough to make it incompatible with my Ubuntu packages. All the software I had downloaded previously worked just fine with it since it was based on Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron, so that was a big plus. So after adding my home repository to the /etc/apt/sources.list file, I simply opened a terminal and typed in "sudo apt-get install vlc ssh audacious audacity virtualbox frostwire wine" and let it do its work. A short while later, my freshly installed system was decked out in all of the software i know and love. Going back in I noticed a couple things that were missing from a default Ubuntu installation, most notably games and a VNC (remote desktop) viewer. The games I can do without, and a moment at the terminal with "sudo apt-get install xvncviewer" set that to rights.

There are graphical ways to install software as well, such as the handy-dandy Synaptic Package Manager, which is included in the default Linux Mint installation, as well as a new thing called the Linux Mint Software Portal. The software portal is great for those of you who are new to Linux. Its entirely web based and works in your web browser. It shows all the available software in easy to understand webpages with screenshots and descriptions. Click one link and it will automagically install the software. Presto Chango! But it was more than I need for my setup, and I already had the packages I needed stored locally on the LAN. But I do plan on checking out new software via the software portal. Its just such a beautiful solution to the problem of software installation.

Linux Mint also includes a neat utility to upload files to other people. This is great for casual computer users. If you're trying to send a file to a friend that is bigger than 10 megabytes, you quickly find that you can't email it since it is too big to send as an attachment. There are lots of things to solve this problem, such as Peer2Peer software or web-based file-transfer services like www.sendafile.com, but few of them are as easy as the Linux Mint file transfer utility. Just right click the file and click Upload. Once it is completely uploaded, you get a link to give your friend where they can download it.

See what I mean? Little touches and amenities that make all the difference. But unlike a luxury automobile which not all of us can afford, Linux Mint is something we can all afford. Its free to download, free to copy, free to share. Go and get a copy for yourself at www.linuxmint.com and check it out.

So at the end of all of this, I have decided to stick with Linux Mint. Its a hard thing to do to get me away from Ubuntu, but with Linux Mint, I get all of the benefits of Ubuntu, plus those elegant little touches that make it just that much more enjoyable. See you next time!

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

SSC #70 Prepare for War!

2008-07-20T10:46:00.001-07:00

The year was 1999. The new millenium was just around the corner and we all stood around wondering whether or not the world was going to end at the stroke of midnight. Windows XP was unheard of for two more years. And one company was releasing one of the first PC games to actually use the then-new technology of 3D acceleration.
   While you were checking your bank balance yet again to be sure that none of your hard earned dollars were being eaten by the millenium bug, others were sitting down at their 200Mhz Pentium II's firing up Windows 98 and starting to wage war.

These days your computer is considered slow if it doesn't have at least a Gigabyte of ram, yet here was an amazing war game that ran on machines with as low as 32 megabytes. Many of you know what 32MB of RAM will hold. Your digital camera probably has 16 times as much memory.

I installed Warzone2100 on a whim. My wife was asking if I had any interesting games for her to play because she was getting really tired of solitaire. Although Ubuntu ships with over 50 different variations of solitaire, I can understand how one would get tired of playing cards. Solitaire just isn't my thing.

So I grab Warzone2100 from the Ubuntu repositories, not really getting my hopes up. Was I surprised? Boy Howdy!
Warzone is the mother of all RTS games. Literally. RTS stands for Real Time Strategy. As in, a game involving strategy that happens in real time. This game is war. Pure and simple. Build a base, drill for oil to power your forces and start churning out tanks to defend and conquer.

Some of you may be thinking that it sounds like Command and Conquer, and it is similar, but there are subtle differences... such as the fact that you design your own units from the technology you develop.

The tanks you can build depend on the level of technology you have captured from the opposing force. But at a glance they include machine-guns, missile launchers, mortars, bunker-busters and much much more. When you get further along in the game you get upgrades like Surface-to-Air missiles, VTOL propulsion and the ability to shoot missiles across the lenght of the playing field. Playing against the computer on the "normal" difficulty level is challenging and extremely addictive. Levels can last from 30 minutes to two hours and you'll find yourself replaying levels in order to improve your progress because the units you have when you finish each level is what you start the next one with. Barely make it through a mission alive? Better do that one again or you'll be starting the next mission with next to nothing.   Also, your troops gain experience from one level to the next. So it's in your best interest to make sure they're not dying or you'll have an army full of rookies.

Having a good grasp of military strategy is a must. This is not a game where you can just jump in and start mashing buttons and come out on top. While the graphics are a little dated, they're not so bad as to diminish the gaming experience. In fact, if it were flashier, it might just take away from the hard-core strategy of it all. You can't spend time looking at pretty lights, you have troops dying out there!

If you've been looking for a good game to test your mettle, this one will do the trick nicely. And playing it won't cost you one red cent. Originally developed by Pumpkin Studios, and later bought by Eidos Interactive, the game was eventually released as Open Source and you can find it now for free on the Warzone2100 Ressurection website (http://wz2100.net/). Ubuntu users, for you guys, installing it is just as simple as typing in "sudo apt-get install warzone2100" in the terminal window and it will download and install automagically. How's that for easy?

Originally, the minimum requirements for this game are low enough that just about everyone will be able to run it. In fact they are so low you probably wouldn't believe it, so I'm just going to quote from the manual.

Minimum Requirements:
Pentum 166 MHz Processor
Windows 95 / Windows 98
32 MB RAM
2MB SVGA card
8X CD-ROM Drive
100% DirectX 6 Compliant Sound Card
DirectX 6.0 or higher (included)
75 MB of Uncompressed Hard Drive Storage
Keyboard and Mouse

Recommended Requirements
Pentium 233 MHz Processor
64 MB RAM
4 MB Direct3D or 3Dfx compatible 3D Accelerator Card
16X CD ROM
Multiplayer Game requires one of the following:
IPX or TCP/IP local area network
28.8 Kbps or faster modem
28.8 Kbps or faster internet connection
Serial connection via null modem cable

Now though, the game has been picked up by a community of developers and maintainers that are slowly tweaking and improving the game. Chances are that the minimum requirements have risen by a small amount, but even still, its a pretty safe bet that if your computer supports 3D graphics at all, you'll likely be able to run this. If you've bought your computer in the last five years, its probably a done deal.

If your computer can't meet or beat these uber-low system requirements, give me a hollar, I probably have an old hunk of junk video card lying in the corner that will help your machine play it just fine.

See you next week!

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

SSC #69 Into the Vortex

2008-07-13T14:55:00.001-07:00

Hi folk, its been a little while since I've written anything. Did'ja miss me? I just needed to take a break and charge the creative batteries a little bit. I shouldn't be missing any submissions from here on out because... I would like to triumphantly report that I am back on the net! Woot!

After, what was it? Three months? Once again I am able to check my email from my living room. Now that its over, I consider the whole experience to be quite invigorating. While I have missed a few article submissions, (and I sincerely apologize to you for that) and I couldn't look things up in Wikipedia the moment I had a burning question, all in all it was a good chance to break some stagnant surfing habits and get some things done. Rather than hitting the StumbleUpon button and randomly surfing for websites to alleviate boredom, I took the opportunity to really dig in and learn some cool new Linux tricks and skills that are really going to come in handy.

But all that aside, I'm really glad to be connected again. And for that I have Vortex Wireless to thank.

Yep, thats right, I'm with a new Internet Service Provider. And I just can't wait to tell you all about them.

Vortex Wireless is a locally-owned, locally operated wireless broadband ISP. Its not a local annex of a corporate machine, Its just a few local guys who had a great idea and who have made it a reality. Exactly my kind of operation. I always root for the underdog.

I went down to talk to them yesterday about signing up and it was about as pain free a process as could ever be. Tom Holt and David Godby, the owners were actually the people who took care of getting me registered and everything, and I asked them a few questions about how Vortex Wireless started out and how everything works. What I got back were straightforward answers and a feeling that I wasn't just a number anymore. After dealing with a decidedly corporate ISP for the last few years, it was like a breath of fresh air. I also got to speak to the guys who would later be doing my installation and I found that these guys really know their stuff. After we talked tech til we were blue in the face, I came away feeling like I hadn't just entered into an agreement for net-access, I had made some friends as well. And because I was able to talk directly to the owners, I put in a good word on your behalf as well. If you go in and sign up, just mention that you read about them here in my article and they'll give you a $25 discount on your installation. Can't beat that, can you? The only stipulation is that you have to be within range to receive the service. In short, if for some reason it won't work from your house, he'll give your money back.

Having a site survey to see if your location is viable is completely free and very easy. Just call them up, give them your address and they'll set up a time with you so that they can come out and take a reading to tell them the strength of the wireless signal from your house. If the reading is good then it's all gravy. If not, then no harm, no foul.

Their rates are comparable to the competition, with multi-tiered services to let you get the speed your twitchy little mouse-finger craves, or give you a cheap always-on lifeline to the net, but without needing a phone-line or cable service in order to make it happen. You can get the net, and JUST the net, in whatever speed fits your budget. And with things getting as tight as they are lately, being able to ditch a phone bill is a big plus for my wallet. Instead of answering a phone only to be guilt-tripped by bill-collectors, I'll save some cash that can go toward paying them off.

Whats really great about the fact that this is a local business is that they'll really work with you. If your bills are tight and you need to go to a cheaper service, they'll downgrade you (down to as low as $16 a month for 2x dialup speed) until YOU are ready to bring the speed back up. If things get really tight and you need to suspend service temporarily and turn it back on a little later, they understand how things are. These are real local people. They'll work with you. And thats really all a man can ask for.

Vortex Wireless is located in the Nextel store, tucked away next to Papa Johns Pizza in Russell Springs. They offer multiple services including broadband, email hosting, web hosting, and PC repair (and don't forget they also do Sprint and Nextel cellphone service and accessories). From what they've told me, their customers enjoy remarkble uptime because their towers all run Linux (big smile here) and the only type of weather that can interrupt the service is heavy fog. We get fog here, but we don't get really heavy fog. This is, after all, Central Kentucky, not Cape Cod.

One little tech fact that I thought was interesting was that neighbors who are on the same wireless tower can enjoy speeds between them that are far in excess of the speed cap enforced by your service plan. In layman's terms, you and your neighbors can play games with eachother across it with ultra-low latency, which means no lag at all. And as they say, the less lag, the more frags. They currently utilize two T-1 lines, at 1.5 Megabits per second, piped in from AT&T to provide a solid backbone to their customers, and due to increasing patronage, they'll be adding another T-1 line shortly to ensure that you get the speed that you pay for.

They told me that currently their plans for expansion are contingent on customer demand. Essentially they can't afford to put up a new tower if they're only going to have one or two customers connecting to it. In this instance, the way in which our county's homes are spread out stand in the way of technological progress. With enough service requests in a given area, though, a waiting customer base would ensure that building a new tower would be financially feasible for the company. In short, if you're interested in signing up with Vortex Wireless, but you know they aren't in your area, be sure and give them a call anyway so that they know you're there. When enough of your neighbors also express interest, expansion becomes possible.

I've only been using the service for a couple days now, but already I've seen my speeds exceed what I'm paying for. A little extra "oomph!" is always appreciated, plus its a better deal that I was getting before... and don't forget I'm supporting a locally owned and operated business. The only problems I've found with the service are the fault of my own equipment. I'm piping their service through a cheap router that needs to be replaced, and I will be replacing it shortly with a Linksys WRT54GL. After that, I suspect nothing but smooth sailing.

Be sure and give Tom Holt and the other guys down at Vortex Wireless a call and see if you can join in the fun. And don't forget to tell them I sent ya! Vortex Wireless - (270) 866-4451 or on the web at www.VortexWireless.com

See you next week folks. Take care.

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

SSC #68 Sauerbraten

2008-06-15T13:23:00.001-07:00

Ok folks, this one is for the Gamers out there. I've been hooked on a new game lately and I've not been able to put it down. Seriously, if you're a fan of Quake, Doom, or Unreal Tournament, then you're really going to like this.

The game is called Sauerbraten. Its been said that there is nothing new under the sun. This is true with Sauerbraten. It has the usual weapons and powerups. It has nice looking graphics and a lot of levels to run around and blow stuff up. In short it is your typical First-Person Shooter (FPS). But Sauerbraten has something that makes it stand out from the pack, at least for me anyway. In Sauerbraten you can quickly and easily create your own maps and share them with others. And get this, you edit the game while you are INSIDE the game. In fact you can edit the game with other people in multi-player cooperative edit mode.

Ok, so great. You can edit it in game... whoop dee doo. Whats so special about that? Well, it means that there are just tons and tons of awesome user-made levels out there to be played. Not to mention all new modes of play.

Have you ever played one of these games and thought to yourself "Hey, I can do better than this!"? Well, this is your chance. If you've ever had a desire to get into game design, well this one is wide open. They take submissions for models, skins, levels, music... the works! Its a completely open opportunity to jump in and get involved in making a great game even better!

Or not. You're perfectly capable and welcome to install Sauerbraten and just partake of the great levels and content created by other users. Its a game that will just keep growing and growing.

If you're interested in giving it a try, make sure you have a decent 3D accellerated graphics card. Windows users can download the client at www.sauerbraten.org, and Ubuntu users can just download it from within Synaptic Package Manager since it is already in the repositories. Sorry Mac users, but there's not a client for you yet, though it is on their TODO list. The game is completely free to download and play, and its open source so the guts of the programming code is available for your perusal and/or improvement.

Personally I'm working on a pretty fun level myself but I won't be hosting it online until I feel it is ready, so if you download the game, be looking out for a level by yours truely in a few weeks from now.

See you in game.

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

SSC #67 Reader response and virtual machines

2008-06-02T04:38:00.001-07:00

I have a letter from a reader I would like to share today before getting into the nitty gritty.

Hi Jeff,

    What kind of hours do you have there?   I need to bring my metal monster in for a good 'blowing out' (dust and pet hair I'm sure).   The problem is I work on the thing and don't have a back-up, so I can't be without it for any great length of time :-/.

    It's not doing anything 'wrong', but it is shutting itself off every now and then - which I'm assuming has to do with needing cleaned.   I can hear the fan kick in audibly after it's been running for a little while (at least I'm assuming it's the fan I'm hearing).

    Also wanted to ask you - what is the difference between CDs and DVDs when you're talking about saving text and .jpg files to disc?   CDs are what I need for that, right?   Not DVDs.

    Thanks!

    Suzi

Actually I come to you. :)

I don't run a shop in a traditional sense, I do all of my work in the customer's home. So if you'd like to set up a time for me to come out and clean your machine, just say the word.   And you will only suffer 15 minutes or so of downtime.

And yes, shutting down is usually a sign of overheating. Not always, but usually. The clicking could be a harddrive. Those overheat too, which is why good airflow is important in your machine. Burning a processor is an annoyance and a small bit of cash. Losing a harddrive, that can really hurt because all your data goes with it and harddrive recovery services are expensive.

As for your question, the only major difference between DVD's and CD's is the amount of data they can hold (this is due to the color and width of the laser beam they are read with). A CD can hold about 700MB of data, and a DVD can hold about 4.7GB or 4800MB. If you are using a specific piece of software for the specific purpose of putting a picture slideshow on a DVD then you're going to probably want DVD instead of CD, or generally whatever the software recommends. But as far as just plain-jane data discs, it is only a matter of capacity. Unless you have a boatload of pics and text to burn, CD's will probably do the trick, since JPG's and text is usually small files.

A more cost effective solution to moving these types of files around is to grab yourself a USB thumbdrive. They have them at the X-mart(s) ranging in sizes from 256MB to 4GB or so. And you just keep re-using the same little drive.

Now, as promised, I present the nitty gritty.

SERVER VIRTUALIZATION

The tech world is abuzz with the merits of virtualization. In response to this Canonical has released a new version of Ubuntu called Ubuntu JEOS. JEOS (pronounced 'Juice') stands for Just Enough Operating System. The majority of hardware drivers have been removed as well as everything that is not essential to the basic running of the operating system. In fact, the only thing that is left is what is needed to run within virtualization software like VirtualBox or VMWare. When you install Jeos into a virtual machine, you are left with nothing but a command prompt. From this command prompt you can use the APT command line package manager to install any software in the Ubuntu repositories. Sounds technical, doesn't it?

Needless to say, my curiosity was piqued. So I downloaded Ubuntu Jeos 8.04 and installed it within a virtual machine running inside VirtualBox. Setup was quick and simple.

Using Jeos, I was able to install a lightweight graphical environment, a file manager, and a window manager. At this point I had a very small and swift-running graphical operating system in a virtual machine. What to do, what to do... Now I installed Synaptic which is basically a graphical front-end to APT. From within Synaptic I installed Apache 2 Web Server, Amaya Web Page designing software and Bluefish HTML editor. Going back to Synaptic I installed Firefox Web Browser.

Now I had a full website creation studio and web server running within a virtual machine. Using this setup I can create a website and serve it up on my local network or even on the internet. Using Firefox I can test how it will look to people viewing the site. And since it was created using Jeos, it is lightweight and doesn't have any software installed that isn't absolutely neccessary to its function. Now I can create a Snapshot of the virtual machine. If at any time I mess something up, I can quickly and easily roll back any changes to my last Snapshot.

Whats even better is that this is a virtual machine. The entire thing exists inside of a file on a real computer. Whats more, VirtualBox has versions for Windows and Linux. So I can copy this to a disk and put it on any other machine and run it, just making sure to forward specific ports from the Host operating system to the Guest operating system. So yes, even a Windows machine can have a web server with industry proven security and stability... when it is running Linux. And if someone were to somehow get outside control of the web server, there's really nothing that they can do. They are entirely contained within the Virtual machine. As soon as it is discovered that the virtual machine is compromised, I can just reset it back to a Snapshot image and undo any changes that the hacker may have made. Or if the Windows machine were to need to be wiped completely (as they often do) and restored, I would have my entire server setup on a disc that I could quickly put back into action.

As I said when I started out, the tech world is abuzz with the merits of virtualization. From what I have seen with Ubuntu Jeos, I can truly see why.

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

SSC #66 Russell County WiFi

2008-05-19T07:11:00.001-07:00

One of the things that this county routinely depends upon is its tourist trade. Having a great location near Lake Cumberland has been a big factor in the growth and influence that Russell County has enjoyed.

With the long history of tourism starting with the original sulphur springs that prompted the creation of the town of Russell Springs, long has Russell County received its bread and butter by its ability to draw teeming crowds of summer funseekers and give them a quality vacation spot to get away from the big cities.

Love them or hate them, the tourists are coming. They are planning their trips, they are making their reservations. They are currently arguing with their in-laws over who left who's cooler back at the fishing shack when they were here last year.

But some of these tourists are going to be a little different this time around. They're going to be coming along with a plethora of tiny devices and gadgets. They'll be looking for available power outlets so they can charge laptops while they shop. They will be getting frustrated and inconvenienced by the lack of open WiFi hotspots.

These are people who have become accustomed to widespread free wireless internet access. Malls, gas stations, libraries, coffeeshops, restaurants, hotels... when driving through St. Louis last week it was simply astonishing how many signs all over the place proclaimed free wireless internet. Its getting so saturated that you can likely surf Flickr at the dentist's office while you wait for your root canal.

I actually got the chance to use my laptop "in the wild" at a gas station in Mulberry Grove, Illinois at around 1 AM when we were on the way back from the concert (which was awesome). I simply booted up and connected to their wireless network which had the SSID of "Welcome to CC Food Mart". Using their WiFi I was able to use Google to find a campground nearby where my wife and I could set a tent and catch some much needed rest. And when we got there, the campground had free WiFi. I didn't try to connect to it though, we were pretty worn out.

With more WiFi equipped handheld devices becoming widely used such as Skypephones and Mobile Internet devices a.k.a. "MID's" like the Nokia n810, its getting easier and easier for people to communicate with and through the internet. With two Skypephones at coffee shops on opposite ends of the planet you can bacially have free Starbucks-to-Starbucks communication indefinately. Or at least until all the caffeine gives you an anurism. Alexander Graham Bell would be proud.

The younger generation is really poised to capitalize on this sort of connectedness. With cool phones and MID's becoming the new status symbols of highschools across the nation, these kids are one tech-savvy crowd. And enterprising business owners in Russell County should take note of this. Because these are the tourists of the future. They'll pick a WiFi equipped restaurant over the competition because at that restaurant they can grab some great food AND they can check on their Ebay auctions. And they'll stick around a little longer as well, grabbing a dessert and another cup of coffee while they grab the latest Doppler radar images from Weather.com so they know what the weather will be like for the trip back home.

Hotels you better listen up too! For the future tourist, being able to connect beats out coffee and donuts... er.. *cough* continental breakfast... any day of the week. Being able to offer your customers free WiFi means you are connecting them to their online lives. Creullers just cannot compare.

From the tourists perspective they can email the pictures of lil' Billy catching his first fish to Grandma in less time than it used to take to drop off the film. When on the lake these folk want to feel like they are roughing it. But when they come back to town for supplies, they want the conforting embrace of civilation.

If your business already has open WiFi available, be sure and advertise it loud and proud. It could really be a big boon to your business. If your business doesn't offer open WiFi, perhaps you should consider whether it is something that your customers would appreciate. Its cheaper than you think. If your business already has an internet connection, adding a wireless router can be very inexpensive. Even as little as $50. And the possibility of greatly increasing your business's "coolness" factor for as little as $50 is something you can't afford to disregard.

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

SSC #65 Last.fm internet radio

2008-05-12T03:53:00.001-07:00

    A wise man once said you can fool some of the people all of the time, and you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. If you replace the word "fool" with the word "please" then you have aptly summed up the problems of a music radio network. Unless you are Mr. Average, you have 1.5 kids, and your tastes play along the lines of the common denominator of society, chances are that sometimes the music played on the radio just doesn't suit your tastes. So you switch the channel... and catch the tail end of your favorite song just before the DJ decides that it is time for a 5 minute block of news, weather, and commercials.
   Radio has its problems. I really don't envy them their job. They have to do the best they can to please all of their listeners all of the time. This is why they tend to stick to the Top 40 hits from the last 20 years. It is just a way for them to play it safe. But some musical artists don't really get good until you get off of the beaten path and delve into some of the stuff that never saw airtime. And sometimes you really just want to hear something new. There is a lot of great music out there that just isn't getting heard. If this describes your feelings toward music you hear on the radio then Last.fm is for you.
   Last.fm is a great new internet radio service that brings a breath of fresh air. Its kind of like a radiostation that is built on the fly to suit your mood. With a single artist name, song name, or even just a keyword that describes what you want to hear, it will line up a playlist of similar music that will play commercial free, non-stop until you turn it off. And controlling it could not possibly be simpler.
   You start off by going to www.last.fm and signing up. Don't worry, its free and they don't ask for anything personal, just your name and email address. Once you have an account, you can listen via the flash player on the website or you can download their Windows client. Ubuntu users, fear not, Rythymbox, Ubuntu's default music player already has Last.fm support built in, just look for it under plugins. They also have a stand-alone Linux client availble as well.
   When you start it up, you start off with just a text box, and a little drop down menu to select between a tag or an artist. More on tags in a minute. You simply just type in the artist you want to hear and it starts playing. It may not immediately play the artist you entered, but it will eventually, as well as artists that belong in the same music genre. If you type in Tammy Wynette it will fill the list with Tanya Tucker, Conway Twitty and George Jones and more like that. If you put in Megadeth it will put in Pantera, Rob Zombie and more of the same. Much of it will be stuff you've heard, and some of it will be stuff you never knew existed. Myself, being a big Radiohead fan of course, I put in Radiohead and I was introduced to a couple new bands (Mogwai, Muse) that I liked immediately.
   Now what if you want to listen to something but you can't really think of an artist to put in? Or perhaps you're going for a specific mood? This is where the "tags" come in. You could put in "easy listening" and thats what you'd get. You could put in an emotion such as "melancholy" or "angry" and you'd get music that represents that feeling. Or you could put in something completely off the wall like "purple" and it would do its best to serve up a playlist of purpley music. And here's the greatest part. If you hear a song you don't like, then with one click of the mouse, you can ban it forever. Alternately you can click the "Love" button and Last.fm will try to play that song more often.
   The only downside that I found at all to the whole thing was that occasionally it would throw in a song in another language. But really that is to be expected since it is designed to service the entire planet. And to be fair, the music sounded like what I was looking for, I just couldn't understand the words. But no worries, a quick click of the "Ban" button and it was gone, immediately replaced with something else.
   In testing out the limits of the service I tried really hard to stump it, but it seemed to have all the bases covered. From Perry Como to Iron Maiden just about everything I typed in came back with some music. So no matter what your music tastes are, and especially if your music tastes differ from what is served up by the local radio stations, Last.fm is something you should give a try.
   I must admit, I'm not sure how well Last.fm works on Dial-up internet access, so if you're a dial-up user and you give it a shot, please do drop me a line and let me know how it works out for you. Enquiring minds want to know.
   Until next week, Rock on! ...or not. Its up to you!

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

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SSC #64 Linux Lament

2008-05-05T03:56:00.000-07:00

    There's nothing really huge to talk about this week that I'm aware of... I know that's not really the best way to start out a newspaper column, but I'm not one for sensationalism for the sake of sensationalism.

   I know I have spent a lot of time hyping Ubuntu up and making it sound really good, but I want you to know that you always get the straight story from me even when it is news I would rather not have to be reporting.

   Case in point, I've been installing Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron around town amongst friends and customers for the last little while, and I'm beginning to see through some of the shine and polish. I'm finding that it is better installed freshly as opposed to an upgrade from Gutsy Gibbon. One friend of mine who was using Gutsy has said that his machine has started acting very sluggish and that things that formerly worked very snappy and crisp are now delayed for unknown reasons. I am thinking some of this is a result of the Beta status of Firefox 3. They did some heavy tweaking in it to make it lighter on your RAM and as a result it is almost as though it runs with lower system priority and hence runs sluggishly and even freezes at times. He was also a big fan of XMMS, like myself, and is having trouble making the transition to a replacement music player. I plan to go over and help him to either work out the bugs or perhaps even switch him back to Gutsy, with which he was very happy.

   Another friend of mine has a fairly new machine from Dell, and I spent 12 hours yesterday trying to get Hardy Heron correctly configured on it. It installed fine via the Wubi installer, and everything worked great except I couldn't get the wireless network card to work. Also it seemed that every time I installed the nVidia 3D-acceleration drivers then the monitor would be limited to a low resolution of 640x480. Oh, the 3D would work, and the windows would wobble and I could do all the cool special effects, but in 640x480 that just isn't enough to satisfy. In the end I realized that the 3D drivers were working fine, they just didn't properly recognize her flatscreen monitor, and as a result of this failure, they refused to display in resolutions that it could not detect.

   After spending all of this time on it and failing to get these basic hardware components to work, I gave up. And a little piece of me died inside. I booted back over to Windows Vista and I removed Ubuntu.

   After a brief moment of silence, I went and passed out in exhaustion.

   I spend a lot of time in this column touting the benefits of Linux and other Open-Source software. Its something that is important to me. And if you're a computer owner, I feel it should be important to you also. But even I must admit that Linux isn't for everyone. While Linux works on more hardware than any other operating system (this is verifiably true) it doesn't work on ALL hardware. My friend could have spent some money and replaced her graphics card and her wireless card with components that are definitely supported. And if you're really determined to get Linux to work, sometimes parts replacement is the only option.

   In a perfect world, all of the hardware manufacturers would release their driver specs openly and Linux would work perfectly with every piece of hardware ever made. But this isn't a perfect world. Companies go out of business and their specs are lost. Some companies refuse to release theirs for fear of losing a market edge. And some companies don't have the choice to open their drivers because contracts signed with other companies for various reasons.

   If you have recently tried Ubuntu on my advice and you couldn't get it to work. I apologize and sympathize with the frustrations you felt. Its a great operating system and I love it dearly, but I admit that it isn't perfect and it doesn't work for every machine. If you had some frustrating encounters with Linux, I'd love to hear about them. In some cases I may be able to help.
   On the other hand, if you tried Ubuntu and everything worked out and you decided to stick with it, I'd like to hear from you as well. After the discouraging times I've had lately with it, it would be nice to hear some success stories.

   I've been thinking a lot lately about starting a LUG.    A LUG or Linux User Group is a local club for Linux users to get together and swap stories, tips, and help eachother. The Ubuntu Loco group (basically a Loco group is just like a LUG but its just for Ubuntu users) for Kentucky is located in Lexington, and I'm a member, but I'd kinda like to get something started here in Russell County.

   If you'd would be interested in gathering together with other local Linux users, please contact me by the one of the methods outlined below. If there is enough interest, I believe it would be great to have a local community LUG.

   Next week we'll be looking at Last.fm and how it has been revolutionizing internet radio, be sure to check it out!

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

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SSC #63 Hardy Heron First Look!

2008-04-27T10:53:00.001-07:00

   Wow, its been a pretty exciting week for Linux fans. Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron was released last week, and I downloaded the LiveCD and set about testing out the new Wubi installer on the only computer in my house that runs Windows XP. I also did an upgrade on my laptop via the built-in upgrade process.

   First lemme talk about the Wubi install. Essentially I just put the newly burnt Ubuntu CD into the computer while it was running Windows XP and it popped up a neat little window asking me if I wanted to reboot and try it out in Live mode, or if I wanted to install it inside of Windows. I selected the option to install within Windows and was greeted with a second screen, which I will be including in this article. Here I made a mistake. I put in a password that was only a single digit long. The installation seemed to progress properly until it got to the point where it wanted to reboot. Upon rebooting it went into a LiveCD session off of the Wubi install. I realized this wasn't correct almost immediately. So rebooting back to Windows, I went into the Control Panel and clicked on Add/Remove Programs. Ubuntu was there on the list and two clicks later it was removed.

   I started up the Wubi install again and this time I put in a password of 8 letters (it turns out you need at least a six-letter password) and commenced the installation a second time. This time Ubuntu installed flawlessly and I was able to do all of the normal customizations that I like to do just like a normal Ubuntu install.

   Booting back to Windows was easy, in fact it was the default option.   To clarify, all you have to do to boot into Windows is just turn your machine on. There is a menu to select between Ubuntu and Windows when it first starts up and if you don't select a choice, it will automatically boot into Windows in about 10 seconds or so.

   From what I hear, it doesn't go so easily on Windows Vista machines. Apparently Microsoft has done something in an attempt to block the Wubi installer by ejecting the CD during the installation process. To get around this, if you're a Vista user, you copy the Wubi.exe file from the CD to someplace on your computer and start it from there. This will allow you to bypass the little MS tripwire and install Ubuntu via Wubi.

   All in all I consider the Wubi installer to be a success. A few bugs to work out for consistency's sake, but it installed fine and it uninstalled cleanly. I just wish it had a warning about expected password length.

   My laptop upgrade went well, all my software was updated to the newest versions and my custom wallpaper and application settings were all left alone. I didn't even have to reconfigure my wireless card. One thing that was a little disappointing to me was the loss of XMMS, which happens to be one of my favorite audio players. Apparently it is no longer supported by Ubuntu. Thankfully there are about 4 or 5 clones of it (XMMS itself is a clone of the Windows program Winamp) and I've started using Audacious, which looks exactly like XMMS did, but has some advanced features added.

   I haven't yet gotten a chance to mess with the Pulse Audio other than to verify that it was indeed there. I did notice that while it is installed by default, the Volume Control application doesn't look any different from before. So I am guessing if you want to utilize all of the special controls then a quick download of some Pulse Audio utilities from Synaptic Package Manager is probably neccessary. For the most part it is invisible, but when I get into some music making later on I believe I will be very happy that it is already installed and configured properly.

   Something else I noticed was that on the Wubi install, Open Office was not a full install. It had the word processor and spreadsheet but had left out the database and a couple of the other elements. Of course installing the rest of it was painless and quick. Alternately, on my laptop, which already had a full Open Office install, it continued to have the full installation which was upgraded to the latest version. Just something to be aware of for those of you trying it out via Wubi. If you need the full office suite, be sure to go to "Add / Remove" at the bottom of the Applications toolbar and add it in.

   For users wanting to do a full install (not via Wubi) I noticed that they had changed the timezone selection process a little. Where before was a zoomable map with points to select a city that shares the same timezone as your own, now they have a hyper-sensitive auto-zooming map that does the same job, but somehow seems to make it harder. I was vastly disappointed in this change and jumped into the #ubuntu chat room--which was a complete mad house with over 1600 users logged in--to let them know how I felt. I was responded to by a user named Evand who asked me how I thought it SHOULD have been. After expounding upon the flaws and should-have-beens he told me I should go and make a bug report. Upon doing this, I found that Evand was the programmer responsible for that portion of the installer. So he was basically asking me to make a list of things for him to change to make it better. That was pretty awesome. Perhaps Evand will have improved it by the time Intrepid Ibex comes out.

   If you tried Ubuntu in the past but were stopped by wireless support issues, well (Mr. Moss), from all appearances, Hardy has just about the same wireless support as the last version. There are minor improvements, but nothing really big. If you card was supposed to be supported but for some reason you couldn't get it to work, you may have better luck with Hardy. If your card wasn't supported before, it is likely not supported now. Although I have been hearing some faint rumors of something major going on with wireless drivers, nothing concrete has manifested as of yet. I'll be sure to let you know when something does.

   All in all, I think Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron is a good strong release. It doesn't do the dishes or bring back the dead, but its a solid operating system that does more than the last version did while also being easier to install than it has ever been before. If you're at all curious about Linux, I invite you to go to www.Ubuntu.com and order a CD, or alternately you could just go to http://wubi-installer.org/ and download Wubi which will then download the ISO and install Ubuntu automagically without ever needing to burn a disc.

If you live in Russell County or the surrounding areas and you need help fixing your computer, give me a call at (606) 219-4088 to set up an appointment.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

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SSC #62 Ubuntu Linux 8.04 Hardy Heron LTS release

2008-04-20T12:45:00.001-07:00

    By the time this is in print, the new version of Ubuntu Linux, codenamed Hardy Heron will be available. This new version 8.04 is an LTS (Long Term Support) version and as such will be supported with security updates until 2011.

    This new version has loads of great new features and improvements that are sure to impress.

    Included in 8.04 is the Pulse Audio Sound Server. This software layer audio proxy "makes it possible to mix audio from multiple applications together, assign audio from individual applications to specific sound cards, adjust volume levels of each individual application, and perform advanced operations on audio streams such as transferring the audio to another computer or changing sample formats and channel counts."

    What this means is that audio aficionados will be able to have fine control over what where and how audio is used inside the system and how it outputs as well.

    Another new feature, Likewise Open, available from the Universe repository, enables seamless integration of Ubuntu within an Active Directory network. Users can use their AD credentials to log onto Ubuntu machines and access any kerberized services provided by an Ubuntu server. Thats even greek to ME. But if your a fan of Active Directory, this could be a deal maker for you.

    From the Ubuntu site: 'KVM is now a fully maintained option for virtualization, libvirt and virtmanager have also been integrated in Ubuntu, allowing for easy guest creation and basic management of virtual machines out of the box. Virt-manager can be used to administer guests on a remote server.'

    What this means is you can easily create a virtual machine within Ubuntu in which to install guest operating systems.   Not familiar with Virtual Machines? Its a pretty hot topic right now in the tech world. A virtual machine is basically a 'pretend' computer that is installed inside of your real computer. This lets you do cool things like install Adobe Photoshop into Windows XP that is running INSIDE a window in Ubuntu. Head scrambled? Its not as scary as it sounds, just unexpected. Its not something the average user expects a computer to be able to do. But it works well provided you have decent hardware.


    "There is a new installation option for Windows users. Wubi allows users to install and uninstall Ubuntu like any other Windows application. It does not require a dedicated partition, nor does it affect the existing bootloader, yet users can experience a dual-boot setup almost identical to a full installation. Wubi works with a physical CD or in stand-alone mode, by downloading an appropriate ISO to install from. It can be found on the root of the CD as Wubi.exe. A full installation within a dedicated partition is still recommended (for permanent installations), but Wubi is a great way to try Ubuntu for a few days and weeks before committing dedicated disk resources."

    This is the thing that has me the most excited. If you are kinda curious about Ubuntu Linux but not ready to jump in head first, this allows you to install Ubuntu into a folder within your Windows installation, and if for some reason you don't like it (perish the thought) you can quickly and easily remove it completely via the Add/Remove Programs function in the Windows Control Panel. Wax on, wax off.

    If you DO really like it, then with the same exact disk you can boot into the LiveCD session and repartition your harddrives and install it permanently. I myself will be attempting both kinds of installs and I'll let you all know how it goes next week with my First Look at Ubuntu 8.04.

    There are lots more features to talk about, but for this week I'm going to keep this pretty short. So tune in next week and get the full scoop!

    I would also like to alleviate any confusion about whether or not I do computer repair work. Yes I do in-home computer repair and I try to keep my rates low. Fixing your computer shouldn't break the bank.

    Its come to my attention that my article header doesn't quite catch the eye like I wanted it to, so I'll be redesigning it in the next few weeks to try to find something that does the job a little better. So when you think I've gotten it right, feel free to write in and tell me so. And if you think you can do a better header, feel free to send submissions to the email address below.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

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SSC #61 The merits of Microsoft

2008-04-10T23:44:00.001-07:00

    This week I was having a heated discussion with a colleague of mine about Microsoft versus Linux and why I hold such an inherent dislike for MS Windows and generally every other product that Microsoft puts out.

    And during this debate he challenged me to write an article saying something good about Microsoft, stating that I was so biased against them that he didn't think I could accomplish it.

    This is that article. Wish me luck.

    I must confess, when I received the challenge, I was absolutely stumped. And I thought I might just have to concede the point. But after I thought about it, I began to realize some things that had not occurred to me previously.

    Simply put, without Microsoft, and without their backhanded double-dealing monopolistic tactics, computers would not be anywhere near as advanced and as versatile as they are today.

    When Microsoft came on the scene, there was a plethora of early operating systems such as SCOPE, CP/M, Pick, Unix and a slew of others each with different design scheme and hardware configurations, and each one was vying for dominance in the computer field.

    With the introduction of MS-DOS, and later on MS Windows, Microsoft began its history of interface stealing, bribery, and its habitual "embrace, extend and extinguish" policy, which enabled Microsoft to come out on top and become the de-facto standard operating system for the majority of people around the world.

    And within this framework of one single dominating operating system, software programming has been able to achieve things that were completely unthinkable just a few short years before.

     Microsoft Windows enabled computers to become popular enough to leave the realm of the hobbyists and businessmen and enter into our collective daily lives. Without Microsoft, there could still be fifteen or twenty different completely incompatible computer systems out there, and you most likely would not have one in your living room. If a market leader had never emerged, none of the competitors would have gotten enough money or attention to make the great strides and successes that Microsoft has facilitated.

    Without this growth and expansion of the general computing populace, we might not have such everyday things as webcams or VOIP. Even the video game industry might not be as advanced as it is today without the massive growth of the personal computing market pushing processor technology to innovate. This is not because Microsoft themselves invented these things, but because Microsoft integrated computers so far into our lives that innovation of the computer field became a necessity and a natural progression of ideas.

    We owe thanks for a big part of our culture and daily convenience to Microsoft. So thank you Microsoft. Seriously.

    Does this mean I've changed my mind? Am I now a Microsoft fanboy? No. And I doubt I ever will be again.

    While we may have needed a company like MS to unify the computing industry and innovate and integrate cool technologies into our everyday lives, I personally believe we do not need them anymore.

    There are very few people left in the world who do not know what a computer is. They may not own one, they may not know how to use one, but they've likely seen one, or at least could recognize one if they saw it.

    As an agent of unification and emissary of technological achievement, Microsoft's task is complete. And as a result of this, Microsoft is one of the richest, most powerful and most influential companies in the entire world. Unfortunately, they are also among the most ruthless of companies in the world.

    Time and time again Microsoft has demonstrated its willingness to bully competing technologies and companies into extinction. Sometimes Microsoft even uses its monopoly power to crush its competitors even though they were superior to its own offering. If anyone can remember the wars between Netscape and Internet Explorer, at the time, Netscape was actually a superior product. And to this day, the pre-release codename for Netscape Navigator, Mozilla, is still used by browsers when surfing the net to denote that it is a modern full-featured web browser. Yet due to Microsoft's monopoly power enabling them to give away Internet Explorer for free, Netscape, a clearly superior product was nearly lost. Netscape has only survived by licensing their code as open source, and as a result of this, the Netscape code provided the backbone for the amazingly popular Mozilla Firefox web browser.

    No fine has ever been levied against Microsoft that was so great as to dissuade them from their unfair business practices and monopolistic tendencies. Every time they're faced with a penalty, Microsoft simply takes it on the chin, forks over a big cash settlement or fine and then resumes business as usual, completely unrepentant. No fine has ever been high enough to compete with their profits made using these business strategies, so why on earth would they stop?

    Microsoft is the big bully on the block. Linux is the group of nerdy little kids who have had enough and have decided that its time to band together and make a stand. And you know what? Microsoft is scared.

    From Wikipedia: "The Halloween documents, internal Microsoft memos which were leaked to the open source community beginning in 1998, indicate that Microsoft perceives open source software in particular, freely available Linux kernel-based operating systems as a growing long-term threat to Microsoft's dominance of the software industry. In marked contrast to the company's public statements, which tend to downplay or ignore open source software, the Halloween documents acknowledged that parts of Linux are superior to the versions of Microsoft Windows available at the time, and outlined a strategy of 'de-commoditize[ing] protocols & applications.' Opponents of Microsoft have dubbed this strategy 'embrace, extend, and extinguish'."

    Linux is the underdog. It is for this reason that I love Linux as much as I do. It is not because I am a geek. As a geek, I love what can be done with MS Windows. You can do some really really cool stuff with Windows. I do not begin to pretend otherwise. I cut my techie teeth on Windows XP. I used Windows exclusively for years and its how I got so good at this stuff. But Windows has flaws. And if I were to try to crack into it and modify the core of Windows to fix these flaws myself, I would be violating the license agreement, and thereby breaking the law.

    Simply put, I love Linux because I love freedom. I am motivated to spread Linux and open source software because I believe individual rights are more important than corporate interests. I believe that sometimes long-standing institutions lose their primary justification for existence. Sometimes a company or industry just simply isn't needed anymore, such as the music industry and the RIAA. Corporations or legal entities entering this situation seldom accept this fact and usually spend a lot of time and effort (and often ruin a lot of people's lives) fighting the inevitable.

    Also, I love Linux because I love the community of people who use Linux. There is an army of volunteers waiting there to help me learn new things, or fix problems day or night. Linux is not locked away behind activation procedures, CD-keys or Licensing agreements. I am free to copy it, I am free to give it away as much as I wish, I am free to improve upon it as I see fit. It is this self-same love of freedom that has me so distraught over the controversies surrounding habeus corpus. But this is not a political column so I will leave that alone.

    And lastly, I love Linux because it is an operating system that is designed to be beneficial to me. Not beneficial to its maker. Open source software did not entice me into the fold to further itself or its agenda. It was made as a gift by volunteers who only wanted to help make the world a better place. And that is something that I can believe in.

    Right now there are over five hundred different distributions of Linux. With Windows you find you are constantly forced to upgrade your hardware to meet its specifications. With Linux, there is undoubtedly a version that will run on whatever computer you have at hand. There are versions of Linux that will run on an old 386. Linux doesn't abandon old hardware. It is not picky, it is not proud. This is not to say that any version of Linux will run on any machine. You have to find the version that is right for what you have. But at least that version is out there somewhere.

    And there's not much that a Windows machine can do that a Linux machine can't do. If your computer can run Vista, it would likely run better with Ubuntu Linux or Red Hat or Debian. If your computer is so old it can only run Windows 95/98, Puppy Linux or DamnSmallLinux would run so fast it would make you think that machine had grown wings.

    It is a diverse planet we live in filled with billions of people with many different needs. One operating system cannot meet all of those needs. In light of this, I think 500+ versions of Linux is a low number. I believe MS Windows should have a place in all of this. I just don't believe it deserves to be #1.

    Here I am almost finished, and I'm not sure I successfully completed the challenge I was given. Saying nice things about a company that you pretty much despise is not an easy task. I did my best. I leave it up to you, the reader, to decide how I did.

    In summation, Thank you Microsoft. Without you our lives would not be as rich with technology and convenience. I appreciate everything you have done for the computing world. It wouldn't have been the same without you. Now please go away. We don't really need you anymore.

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

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SSC#60 Podcasts aka Delay-dio

2008-04-06T20:12:00.001-07:00

    Y'know when you cast your line into those tall reeds at the edge of the pond and get it tangled up in the pods on top, break your line and lose your best lure? Well, folks, that is NOT podcasting. Thats just a bad day.

    From PC Magazine's online encyclopedia--Definition of podcast: (iPOD broadCAST) An audio broadcast that has been converted to an MP3 file or other audio file format for playback in a digital music player or computer. The "pod" in podcast was coined from "iPod," the predominant portable, digital music player, and although podcasts are mostly verbal, they may contain music.

    Bring this to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes and you get: an online radio show about topics that interest YOU that you can save and play any time you want to either on your computer, or a portable mp3 player.
    Anyone can make a podcast. If you have access to a computer, and a decent microphone to record your voice, and the means to upload your audio show to the internet, you can be a podcaster.

    That doesn't mean you're going to have anything interesting to say.

    Podcasts vary greatly in quality, length, and substance. They aren't regulated by the FCC so be warned, there are some out there with explicit language and/or content. Its not all a bed of roses. There is nothing worse than listening to someone talk to himself in his basement about things you couldn't care less about.
    On the other hand, it is absolutely fantastic to hear a talk show about a topic that you are very involved in, by people who know what they are talking about. It makes you want to call in and tell them your thoughts too! Which is just fine by them.
    Audience participation is usually very welcome on most podcast shows. You can be part of the show in many ways, either by calling in, writing in, emailing, or chatting in their chat rooms. Lots of them even use Skype and other web-based phones. So joining in on the conversation is encouraged and very easy to do.
    One of the great things about podcasts is that once you find a show you like, often you can download archives of it and catch all the ones you missed.
    Something that you may miss by listening to Podcasts is all of the music you are familiar with. Many podcasts are run on shoestring budgets with donated time and equipment, and maybe one sponsor to cover the costs of webhosting. They do not have the money to pay for royalties to artists. So in order not to get sued, they tend to refrain from using copywritten music on their shows.
    Instead they use either original music that they make themselves, or they use royalty free music from a safe source.
    These safe sources, such as http://www.podsafeaudio.com and http://music.podshow.com allow musicians to promote themselves and their bands by uploading their original music up to the site. Registered Podcasters can then browse the music and find tracks that suit their purposes or that they like enough to promote and then proceed to use them in their shows.
     Non-podcasting visitors can download the tracks from the website or purchase a custom CD for a fee, thereby providing some much needed finiancial support for the artists. Its really a great avenue into self-promoted musical artists. One song of mine was already picked up and played on a Podshow from New Jersey. It felt pretty nice to know someone liked the song, and depending on how many listeners he had, spread it out to other people as well.
    If you're one of those people who complains that everything on the radio sounds the same, this is for you. You're likely to find something unlike anything you have EVER heard., and just maybe you'll find something you wish you had heard a lot sooner.
    Conversely, if you are a small-town band trying to get noticed in this great big world, uploading some songs for podcasters is a great way to gain some free exposure beyond your regular gigs.
    Ready to try it out? There are lots of ways to do so. If you use iTunes, you are already ready already. If not, you can surf on over to http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/ and get Juice. Juice is a cross-platform (Win, Mac) Podcast receiver. On the Linux side of things, check your distro's repositories for Icepodder, gPodder, or Podnova.

    My personal top pics for Podcasts are The Linux Action Show (www.linuxactionshow.com) and LottaLinuxLinks (www.lottalinuxlinks.com). They represent two of the extremes of podcasting but deal with the same topic. The Linux Action Show is a highly polished professional sounding show about what is newest and best in the Linux world. And LottaLinuxLinks is a great one-man-show covering Linux, produced by a man during his daily drive home, yes, you read right, he does the show from his vehicle, on a shoestring budget, with an imaginary female co-host (a computer generated voice) to introduce and wrap up the show.
    As you can see, Podcasts are a whole other world of music, people, and opinions. Consider this an invitation.

See you next week!

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

If you'd like to read my past articles, browse to
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

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SSC #59 General News

2008-03-31T01:38:00.001-07:00

    Hiyah again folks, hope you're having a good week. Its been pretty crazy around here.   I've made the first baby steps at trying to learn the computer programming language Python. Its a very powerful and versatile language that is used in Windows Linux and Macintosh systems. In case you're wondering, it is named after Monty Python, not the huge African snake. I'm hoping that by learning it I can make some headway on creating the Kidbuntu Linux disk I talked about earlier.
    Also, at the time this will see print, Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron will have less than twenty days left before release. I've already cleaned out a partition on my hard drive in anticipation of installing it. This version will come with the ability to be installed from within Windows so I'll be trying that option out and I'll be sure to pass along my experiences with that function as well as a full review of the rest of the release.
    In other news, you may remember me writing about a new Radiohead album back in October called In Rainbows. I just found out this weekend that they'll begin touring the USA in a couple weeks.
    Unfortunately the closest place to see them on the tour is in St. Louis Missouri. I'm going to be trying very very hard to make the trip, so wish me luck there. I've only been to St. Louie once and that was via Greyhound, so I wasn't driving at the time. It should be an adventure.
    Also, I have decided, after long deliberation, that I am going to change my ISP. I have gotten my internet service from Duo County for almost two years now, and while I've not had any problems with their service--it has been very reliable--they do not have the option of getting broadband internet without either having their cable service or their phone service.
    In my house we don't watch TV, and my wife and I both have cellphones, so in essence, I can lower my monthly bills by $30 by dropping the house phone and signing up with Vortex Wireless.
    Vortex Wireless is due to come by the house sometime this week and check to see if they can get a good signal here, which I'm pretty confident won't be a problem. If all goes well, I'll be getting their dish installed on the side of my house.
    But here is the kicker. In order to save up the $150 installation fee (and go see Radiohead) I'm going to be without internet service for a little while. How ever will I survive? Will I become like some junky who has lost his dealer? Nah, I think it will be a good thing. Maybe catch up on some reading.
    Don't worry I'm still going to be writing my articles, I will just have to submit them from somewhere other than home. If I happen to miss a week, I apologize in advance. And if you're one of my friends who I will have to borrow access from in order to submit my articles, I apologize to you too.
    When all is said and done, I should have a new Internet Service Provider. I'll be sure to tell you all how it went.

    Just so that this article isn't a waste, I would like to pass on a recommendation from a friend. Bobby Espinoza is a good friend of mine and I taught him everything he knows about computers, but he did me a good turn last week by suggesting I try out a Firefox addon called Cooliris Previews.
    From their page - "Cooliris Previews gives you the power to browse and share Web links and rich media faster. Just mouse over any link, and the Cooliris preview window immediately appears to show you the content. To email it, just click."
    So if you're a Firefox user, be sure to get Cooliris Preview. It is mighty handy. If you're not sure how to get Addons for your Firefox, just go to https://addons.mozilla.org. Its really really really easy. Really.

    Oh, almost forgot, I redesigned the StraightShootinComputin webpage, to make it a little easier to read. Be sure to drop by and check it out. Feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think of the new look!   http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
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SSC #58 OpenMoko - The Open Source phone.

2008-03-23T20:29:00.001-07:00

Nowadays just about everyone carries a cell-phone. And why not? You can buy them anywhere, they are practically a step away from putting them in cereal boxes.
Perhaps you have a good monthly plan, and a nice phone... Or perhaps you just keep a cheap prepaid phone in the glove-box for emergencies. They are virtually everywhere. So much in fact that they have pretty much put an end to public payphones.
Today I would like to tell you about a phone that you're likely going to own some day. Its called the OpenMoko and it is the world's first open-source phone.
Everything about the OpenMoko phone (called the Neo Freerunner) is open for everyone to see. The phone runs on a very slimmed down version of Linux, so you know that's completely open source and will have lots of features, but what's more the hardware specifications have been open to the public since the beginning of its inception. And just recently, OpenMoko has released the CAD/engineering files for the case. What this essentially means is that anyone who wants to build an OpenMoko phone and who has the capability, can feel free to do so without fear of legal reprisals.
And what THIS essentially means is that they will be very very very cheap! Maybe not at first, so if you're an early adopter, be prepared to pay through the nose, but eventually they will become a gold standard for cellphone technology that will be manufactured by multiple companies around the world. You might not get a Neo Freerunner, but chances are, since anyone can make them, eventually, you'll own a phone with OpenMoko technology inside of it.
Keep in mind that when I say cheap, I do not mean "basic". The Neo Freerunner (due out later this year) will have enough processing power to play music and full motion video like an Ipod or Zune, has a touch-screen interface for easy navigation, has built in WiFi for instant messaging or talking on a web-based phone service, as well as your normal cellphone functions. What? You say that isn't enough? Well how about a free GPS system that links directly to the satellites (instead of your cellphone carrier for a monthly fee) and a built in accelerometer that lets the phone know when it is in freefall so it can prepare for impact?
Perhaps you don't like its shape... rest assured, the open source CAD files will ensure that companies will put them out in all shapes, colors, and sizes. And it will have more accessories than you could ever dream possible.
OpenMoko is a promise of coming freedom, and a much needed breath of fresh air amidst companies vying for control over you and me.

Needless to say, I want one really really bad!

Added to the open-source beer called FreeBeer, the open-source softdrink called OpenCola, and the open-source car, I think the open-source movement just hit a grand slam.

Hey folks, keep in mind that I'm here to answer your technical questions. If you're having trouble with your computer, feel free to write to me at the email address below and I'll do my best to help you solve it. Who knows? It may even get printed in here!

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
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Mozilla and Netscape

2008-03-23T19:26:00.001-07:00

Hello again,

I found an article that does a pretty good job of explaining the whole Mozilla/Netscape thing...
http://sillydog.org/netscape/kb/netscapemozilla.php

The paragraph that most directly answers your question:

What's the difference between Netscape 6/7 and Mozilla?

(brief version)
They are of same source code, but target different types of users.
(complete version)
Technically speaking, they are almost identical. However, Netscape 6/7 is designed as an end-user product, and Mozilla is for the developers. AOL/Netscape spent a great resource on making Mozilla more end-user friendly by adding documentation and improving the user interface, as well as adding multimedia support and integrating its instant messaging.

Don't let it hurt your head or anything but there are litterally dozens of different browsers out there. If not more. This is not a bad thing.

Firefox (made by Mozilla.org) is basically a result of what the open source community has done with Netscape after they opened up their program code to the public.

We, the users, have a lot of choice. Personally I use and recommend Firefox, and I haven't personally used netscape in a very long while, except here and there. Netscape just seemed very limited, and way too "safe", almost as though the programmers are making the assumption that their users don't have a clue.

While I'm not generally one who has to have my software installed with training wheels, I understand if other people do. We all start somewhere.

Other browsers of note:

Avant
Opera
Seamonkey

There is nothing wrong with getting a second or a third browser. It won't hurt your system, and you could find something you really like a lot better, so experimentation is good.

When you start them up they will usually ask you if you want to make it the default browser. When you find the one that you like, make that your default.

But do try out Firefox... and be sure to check out their AddOn system... really adds a lot of cool stuff to your Firefox.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

seer <email hidden> wrote:

Hey hey :)

Ok, I went and got the videolan player - cool - got to see the file I downloaded - yippee!

Now, tell me - I use Netscape - is there a difference between that and Firefox? The Mozilla thing confuses me, because I thought that Mozilla is what Netscape used - but if I'm understanding correctly, then Firefox is a third browser?

(I have a headache now)

"sigh"...

Suzi ;)

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SSC #57 Ubuntu Brainstorm

2008-03-16T16:32:00.001-07:00

    Do you ever wish that you could make a suggestion to the people who make Microsoft Windows and that they would actually listen?
    Well, don't expect it to happen any time soon, not with Microsoft anyway... but with Ubuntu, its a different story entirely.
    Canonical has recently opened up a new website geared toward receiving and using suggestions from their users, and it might just go a long way toward making Ubuntu Linux one of the greatest operating systems of all time.
    The site is called Ubuntu Brainstorm, and it is the philosophical brother of the Brainstorm site that Dell introduced a while back... (you remember, the one in which users demanded that Dell start releasing Linux computers?) You can find the new site at http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com. Personally, I've not been able to leave it alone since I first found out about it. Joining the site is free, quick, and easy, and once joined, you can submit ideas that you would like to see incorporated into future versions of Ubuntu. And you can vote on the ideas of others. In this way Canonical can directly see what the primary needs and desires of their patrons actually are. Votes from duplicated ideas are combined, so if an idea is submitted more than once, it won't split up the vote.
    One idea that I have submitted (which turned out to be a duplicate of an idea someone else had already put in) was that they make a version of Ubuntu just for kids.
    The idea is that they'd take out OpenOffice and all of the productivity stuff, and replace it with fun games that young people would enjoy, set up in a fashion that is easy for a young child to navigate. Coupled with some solid parental controls (including the Glubble addon for Firefox) this would make the ultimate thing for parents wishing to keep their kids (and their computers) safe.
    You'd simply put in the Kidbuntu disc and reboot. The computer would boot back up into Kidbuntu and your children could have fun playing games without fear that they could accidentally ruin your important files, see something they shouldn't on the internet, or worse.
    I invite you to join me and thousands of other Ubuntu users on Ubuntu Brainstorm and help us shape the future of Ubuntu Linux.
    The next version, Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron is right around the corner, so its highly unlikely that ideas submitted now would make it into this release, but the next one, Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex, is only six short months after that. Who knows? Perhaps you have an idea that will turn the computing world on its ear. It has certainly happened before! At one point, the idea of a computer mouse was unheard of!

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SSC #56 How to get rid of Vista

2008-03-09T20:28:00.001-07:00

    So you just went out and bought yourself a new computer, only to find that instead of the comfortable and familiar Windows XP that you've spent the last several years getting used to, your new machine has come pre-installed with Windows Vista.
    After a little fiddling around, you have decided that you really don't like it and this brand new computer doesn't seem to run any faster than your old one did. Now what?
    Many people who are installing their old copies of Windows XP on new machines, especially laptops, are running into major problems finding drivers for their brand new hardware. The computer ships with a disk that has all the drivers for Vista, but not for XP. Without proper drivers your hardware won't run right, or won't run at all.
    In some cases, the new computers are using new SATA harddrives. SATA drives didn't exist when Windows XP came out, and people are finding that they can't install XP at all since XP can't detect a single harddrive to install to. There is an option to press F6 during the beginning of the install if you happen to have the SATA drivers on a floppy disk, but many new machines are being built without floppy drives. So without means to install the drivers, there is no apparent way to install Windows XP.

    Fear not, there is a solution.

    http://unattended.msfn.org/ gives a guide on how to customize Windows XP install CD's. By following this guide and using a great application called nLite which you can find at www.nliteos.com you can incorporate your SATA drivers into the Windows XP installation CD and your drives will be detected.
    But why stop there? Using nLite you can do all kinds of awesome things to IMPROVE Windows XP beyond what you are used to.

    You can incorporate ALL of your drivers for your hardware so that it is all recognized automatically.

    You can completely remove Windows components. You use Firefox? You can take Internet Explorer completely out. Use Pidgin for your instant messaging? Just click a box and MSN Messenger never gets installed in the first place.

    You can even incorporate your CD Key and the new installation CD won't even ask you for it!

This weekend I customized a Windows XP install CD for a friend of mine who was having trouble with the aforementioned SATA issue. After taking out all of the bloat that is normally installed with Windows, and replacing it with Open Source alternatives, his new Windows XP installation is the fastest booting operating system I have ever seen. I even timed it. From hitting the power to having the desktop fully loaded up and ready was 35 seconds. By comparison, an Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon installation on the same hardware took 109 seconds to boot up. I was flabbergasted.
So if you're struggling to get your new computer back to the familiar ground of Windows XP, just gather your drivers together and then head on over and grab a copy of nLite. Windows XP actually is a pretty good operating system. So long as you are the one in charge of it. Not Microsoft.

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SSC #55 General News

2008-02-24T15:18:00.001-08:00

Mozilla Firefox hits 500,000,000 downloads

    Yep, thats right, 500 million downloads. Half a billion users. And thats not counting those who's operating system already uses Firefox who therefore do not need to download it. Mozilla firefox is fast becoming the standard web browser due to its versatile plug-in system that lets you add functions such as weather monitors, sports and stock market tickers and amazing looking skins quickly and easily while still managing to have better security than Internet Explorer.
    The fact that it is available on Windows, Linux, and Macintosh doesn't hurt either.   If you would like to make it half a billion +1, drop on by www.firefox.com and see how good it can really be.


Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron getting closer

    This next version of Ubuntu is shaping up to be a real blockbuster.
Due out sometime in April, the new and improved Linux-based operating system from Canonical will encompass lots of new features.

Plug and Print for supported USB printers will allow you to quickly and easily get printing

The Wubi Windows Installer will allow you to set up a dual-boot system with both Ubuntu and Windows side by side quickly and easily just by putting the Ubuntu disk in while you are running Windows.

Improved drivers for ATI graphics cards will enable you to show off to your friends the amazing Compiz Fusion desktop special effects on a wider range of video cards.

Other new features are mostly related to changing the selection of default applications that are initially installed.

    Due to its increasing usability and its low low cost of zero dollars, Ubuntu is fast becoming a popular replacement for new computer buyers who are less than happy with Microsoft's latest piece of bloatware, Windows Vista.
    Hardy Heron will also be an LTS (Long Term Support) release, meaning simply that users will continue to receive support in the form of updates and patches for the next three years.
    I know one of my readers in particular who is looking forward to the release with crossed fingers due to the buggy wireless support in the previous incarnation. Rumor has it that there is something in the works for how wireless networking cards are recognized, but there's nothing officially being said on the Alpha release webpage. Hang in there John, hopefully they will get you taken care of this time around.

More on the death of HD-DVD

    It appears that Microsoft is jumping on the bandwagon in ditching support for the failing HD-DVD format.   They are discontinuing manufacture of the HD-DVD addon for the Xbox 360. Apparently they plan to continue to fix the devices that break under warranty, but they won't be making any more.
    A this format war between HD-DVD and BluRay has hit a lot of retailers hard as they now have to figure out what to do with their inventory of HD-DVD players and movies. It is not often that something becomes instantly obsolete while sittting on the store shelves, but that seems to be the case.
    If you were one of the unlucky souls who ran out and bought an HD-DVD player, what do you plan to do with yours?

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SSC #54 Farewell to HD-DVD

2008-02-18T10:04:00.001-08:00

Toshiba says goodbye to HD-DVD

    Toshiba has announced that they have ceased manufacture of HD-DVD related equipment, which many think spells eventual doom for the format, coming as it does only a couple days after Wal-mart has announced that they will stop carrying HD-DVD movies on their shelves.

    HD-DVD and rival disc format Blu-Ray have been going at eachother's throats since the Christmas season of 2006 when Sony began pushing their Blu-Ray standard along with the PS3 gaming console.

    While there are still other companies that manufacture HD-DVD equipment, most analysts seem to think that with Toshiba, its heaviest proponent, dropping the format, that HD-DVD is likely to go the way of Betamax and the dodo bird.

    Owners of HD-DVD players are now looking at the choice of either switching to a Blu-Ray player early before having invested too much into HD-DVD movie titles, or else continuing to purchase movies from what promises to be an ever dwindling selection.

    Generally, in format contests like this, the market will usually favor one format over another, but it is hard to say early on which one will be the winner. This is the risk one takes when being an early adopter.

    No word has been forthcoming from Microsoft, whose XBOX 360 gaming system which plays movies using the HD-DVD standard, as well as using the HD-DVD for its game discs.

    For those of you with more patience than money, who have been waiting quietly for one format to stand out before entering into the next generation of home entertainment, it appears we have a winner. You can safely buy a Blu-Ray player.

    No comment has been heard from Sony as to how they feel about this, but one can only assume that they are very very happy.

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SSC # 53 The Creed of Freedom

2008-02-11T06:05:00.001-08:00

Hi folks, I don't have a good topic picked out this week due to spending the whole week in the hospital with my son. Some of you may be familiar with RSV, if so, you know what the poor tyke is dealing with. If you're not familiar with RSV, think of it like a head and chest cold that lasts longer than mono.

In light of that, instead of writing an article off the top of my head without proper researching, I would like to take this time to share with you something that I found on the net.

THE CREED OF FREEDOM

by G. Edward Griffin

INTRINSIC NATURE OF RIGHTS
I believe that only individuals have rights, not the collective group; that these rights are intrinsic to each individual, not granted by the state; for if the state has the power to grant them, it also has the power to deny them, and that is incompatible with personal liberty.
I believe that a just government derives its power solely from the governed. Therefore, the state must never presume to do anything beyond what individual citizens also have the right to do. Otherwise, the state is a power unto itself and becomes the master instead of the servant of society.

SUPREMACY OF THE INDIVIDUAL
I believe that one of the greatest threats to freedom is to allow any group, no matter its numeric superiority, to deny the rights of the minority; and that one of the primary functions of just government is to protect each individual from the greed and passion of the majority.

FREEDOM OF CHOICE
I believe that desirable social and economic objectives are better achieved by voluntary action than by coercion of law. I believe that social tranquility and brotherhood are better achieved by tolerance, persuasion, and the power of good example than by coercion of law. I believe that those in need are better served by charity, which is the giving of one's own money, than by welfare, which is the giving of other people's money through coercion of law.

EQUALITY UNDER LAW
I believe that all citizens should be equal under law, regardless of their national origin, race, religion, gender, education, economic status, life style, or political opinion. Likewise, no class should be given preferential treatment, regardless of the merit or popularity of its cause. To favor one class over another is not equality under law.

PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
I believe that the proper role of government is negative, not positive; defensive, not aggressive. It is to protect, not to provide; for if the state is granted the power to provide for some, it must also be able to take from others, and once that power is granted, there are those who will seek it for their advantage. It always leads to legalized plunder and loss of freedom. If government is powerful enough to give us everything we want, it is also powerful enough to take from us everything we have. Therefore, the proper function of government is to protect the lives, liberty, and property of its citizens; nothing more. That government is best which governs least.

---------

Pretty powerful stuff, without a doubt. I am still digesting it myself.

Hope you have a great week, and I'll be back next week with something a little closer to my normal fare.

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SSC #52 Think you deleted it? Think again!

2008-02-03T07:30:00.001-08:00

So you received a hot stock tip that you really weren't supposed to get. Or perhaps it was a quick note from a forbidden sweetheart. Or maybe you've just been going to places on the internet that you really shouldn't. You may think you covered your tracks. You might believe that you have deleted all the evidence. You might be sitting there feeling safe and secure in the knowledge that no one will ever be able to retrieve those files from your computer because you know you deleted them.

And you are so totally wrong.

When people complain about Microsoft Windows, most complaints are about how buggy it is. How often it locks up. How easy it is for it to be compromised by malicious entities. When most people complain about Microsoft Windows, they don't complain about how it is slowly collecting and storing hidden traces of your deleted emails, surfing history, and supposedly deleted files. Thats because "Most People" don't know about it.

What's more, if you have a computer that was owned and used by someone else before you, theres no telling what could be on it. You could have a life sentence worth of child porn hidden on your harddrive and you would never even know. Thats a very drastic example, but it is entirely within the realm of possibility.

If you buy a used computer, it is important to have the harddrive completely wiped. It doesn't have to be professionally done, you CAN do it yourself. But it does need to be thorough. Once that is done, you can install an operating system of your choosing.

It isn't a new thing with Microsoft that they do this, practically every version of Windows has had some sort of privacy compromising feature or another. With Windows 98 it was the Find Fast file indexing feature. With Windows XP it is the hidden MFT area and the supposed NSA backdoor key that lets Uncle Sam look into your computer any time they please. Windows Vista isn't looking to be any different from this trend.

There's even a security encryption algorith that was created by NIST (U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology) in conjunction with the NSA, which apparently seems to have a set of magical numbers that bypasses it as though it wasn't there at all. Basically a backdoor.

As of right now, privacy advocates and experts can't figure out what those numbers are, but they all seem to agree that they exist.

So perhaps the idea that the goverment can see your files doesn't bother you. Perhaps you are that trusting, that patriotic. What about a couple years down the road when those magic numbers leak out into the wild wild net? What about those magic numbers letting just any snot-nosed teenage geek with authority issues rifle through your files with impunity?

Strangers rifling through your family photos?

Placing a high value on privacy does not immediately insinuate that you have something to hide. It only shows that you have respect for yourself and for others.

Right now the warrantless wiretapping scandal between the Executive branch and the Telecoms is slowly being forgotten while we're wrapped up in the latest horrific thing to hit the news. Whether that horrific thing that distracts you is Bush's new signing statements, the Tax Stimulus check you may be getting later on in the year, or how big Britney Spears' thighs have gotten.

Protecting your privacy can be hard. It can be complex. It does take some effort. You cannot just throw some money at it and make it go away when some of the very same high rated security programs you can buy use encryption that has a built in back door. You have to be vigilant and you have to keep track of what is happening in the world at large.

Failing that, you could get an operating system that is completely open to scrutiny from privacy groups. I know it seems counterintuitive, but it is really true. The more people you have looking at the programming code, the more sure you can be that if there was something bad, a whistleblower would have found it. Thats why I am a big advocate of Ubuntu Linux. It is completely open source. People are watching what goes into my operating system. And if I really wanted to, I could watch too.

Or you can always just use your computer as though you are living in a goldfish bowl and that everything you do could possibly be watched by someone else. Either now, or at some time in the future.

We as citizens of this age are bombarded with so much that it is really hard to prioritize what we are most angry about. But there always seems to be something else to make us forget. It works by either lulling us to sleep, mesmerizing us with flashing lights and sounds, or making us so angry that we forget what we were originally angry before we get a chance to do anything about it.

Maybe we should start making a list?

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SSC #51 Keep those kiddies safe!

2008-01-27T17:29:00.000-08:00

    You might think otherwise by reading my articles, but I grew up without the benefit of having a computer. I actually did not get my first computer until I was twenty-three.
    As parents we always want our children to have things and opportunities that we ourselves never had when growing up. It is for this reason that my son, Tyler, received his own computer at the age of 6 months. Yeah, I know you're thinking that is just plain crazy, but honestly it worked out well. He had a touchscreen by which he could press pictures and watch cartoons and stuff like that. We also used it as a nanny-cam and baby monitor. It was really quite useful.
    Now my son has reached the grand old age of five. He's beginning to be able to read and he's gone past the need for his touchscreen. In fact, he is in the first stages of learning how to surf the internet.
    How does a parent these days make the internet safe for a child of such a tender age? How indeed!
    A few months back, I came across a new plugin for the Firefox browser called Glubble. (www.glubble.com) It doesn't work for Internet Explorer, and from the looks of it they have no plans to support it. Glubble makes the internet a safe and fun place for young minds to explore.
    Glubble has a different layout depending on whether you are viewing it with adult priveleges or child priveleges. For adults it just adds a couple buttons to the toolbar to interact with the system.   And for children, it simplifies the entire browser into something that they can easily grasp. Using the adult privileges requires a password so your child can't get into it, though you can turn the password off if it is a machine that your children won't ever be using.
    Now, whenever my son wishes to view a new page, or clicks on a link, a box comes up prompting him to ask either "Daddy" or "Mommy" for permission. After he has used that box to ask, I get a message that pops up in my browser that tells me that he wishes to see a site and it gives me the link to the site he is interested in. I check out the site and decide whether or not it is something that he should be looking at and then I can either allow or deny it.
    If I allow it, he gets a popup box in his browser that tells him that "Daddy has said it is OK to go to ..." and he can then visit the site.
    I can also add sites to his list before he asks, and whatever I add, Glubble will remember.
    Glubble also allows him to add sites to a favorites list which shows thumbnail sized pictures of his favorite websites.
    And on top of that, there is a personal home page that he can see with a new feature called the Family Wall, basically a kind of family message board, where he can send and receive messages to either me or my wife.
    All in all it is a very nice and well thought out system, and the support staff at Glubble.com are all very helpful and they take all suggestions for improvement very seriously.
    Because this is for Firefox, Glubble can be used on Windows, Linux, or Macintosh. Keep in mind that if you want your kids to use this, you'll need to get rid of their access to other browsers such as Internet Explorer or Safari. Using Glubble can make the internet safe and fun for your kids, but it doesn't help anything if they can just start up a different browser and bypass it.

    Until next week, keep those kids safe and sound!

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

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SSC #50 Home Recording

2008-01-20T15:40:00.001-08:00

    Oliver Wendell Holmes is quoted as having said "Alas for those that never sing, But die with all their music in them!"
    It is a very rare and strange person who does not enjoy music of some form. Music speaks to the heart of us. And for some of us, it speaks FROM the heart of us as well.
    For over 10 years I played guitar. Not professionally, or even with any degree of regularity. I did not play the hit songs, I did not play requests. I tried not to copy, but to create. I made my own music. Some liked it, some did not. Truly, I did not ever care. It was mine. It was some part of what makes me unique transformed into sound. And it made me happy.
    A little over a year ago I had an accident at work. I accidentally crushed the middle fingertip of my left hand. The tip of the bone was broken and surgery was necessary to make it usable again.
    Now, a year later, the tip of my finger is constantly numb. Pins and needles numb. I can grip with it, I can work with it, I can even type with it. I just can't play guitar with it. I probably could learn to use my other fingers differently and work around the injury, and perhaps some day I will. But for now, it is just too strange, too different, and too depressing.
    I said all of that to say this: If you are a musician, and you enjoy it, record yourself. Even if you only play for yourself, in the closet, at night, with the lights turned off... record yourself. There are songs that I created that I will likely never hear again, except in my head, simply because I didn't feel they were good enough to make a recording of them. And now I wish I had.
    If you have a computer, recording music can't be much simpler. There are tons of great professional grade programs out there such as Reason or Cakewalk, shareware applications such as n-Track Studio, and awesome free software such as Audacity. For Mac users there is Garage Band. No matter what kind of computer you have, chances are there is a way to record sound.
    Of course results can vary depending on the quality of your equipment, but it is much much less expensive to upgrade a PC-based recording solution than to purchase all analog or solid-state equipment. And while some may not think much of digitizing their sound, the majority of music these days is listened to in a digital format. With a decent microphone and a decent $50 soundcard, your PC can outperform equipment costing $1000 or more.
    Perhaps you've used a 4-track recorder in the past... What would you say to a recorder that is capable of nearly unlimited tracks?
    Depending on the software you use, you can add tracks, use effects, speed up or reverse tracks, and for cutting out the bad parts, you can zoom in so far you can see the individual waves of sound so you will have no trouble finding the place to make your edits. Or you could just hit record and go. Most of these type programs have the ability to mix down to MP3, and from there its relatively easy to put on a CD. You can record something in an afternoon and listen to it in the car that night.
    It can be easy, or it can be technical. The rabbit-hole goes deep, but you don't have to follow it all the way through. Just make sure you have some means to record the songs that come out of you. They are pieces of yourself that you will miss when they are gone. Thats all I'm saying.

In response to last week's article about voting machines, Kay Winemiller writes:

"Jeff, this is such an interesting article. Glad you wrote it. I work the polls and right now, as you know, the voters have a choice here of which machine they want to vote on. The first time the Hart machine was used, the company informed our class that the machine will eventually replace the other machine. Quite a few of the voters refused to use the Hart and raised the question of the accuracy and honesty. Voicing the same concerns your article points to. Hopefully, the public takes this seriously.

Very good article. Keep up the good work."

I intend to Kay, thanks for writing! I think I know which machine I will be voting on, and I'm glad I still have that option!

If you have a question or comment, feel free to email me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

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SSC #49 Computers aren't for everything

2008-01-07T16:48:00.001-08:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

If you read my column regularly, (that is when I write it regularly) you no doubt know that I am a big fan of computers and electronics. In a word I am a geek. If I could do the dishes from the keyboard I would, and they'd likely get done a lot more often.
Bluetooth enabled refrigerator? Awesome. Battery operated self-warming socks? Very cool. You invented an electronic tomato? All I have to ask is "Does it get WiFi?"
That being said, there's one thing that I don't think should be computerized. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
That one thing would be voting machines.
Right now there is a lot of controversy surrounding electronic voting machines, and rightly so.
Voting machines in Ohio were found to be easily broken into and hacked. False information was able to be introduced via handheld devices that could easily be carried into the booth. Not only that, but they were susceptible to viruses and malignant software.
And its not just in Ohio. The machines in question, manufactured by Elections Systems and Software; Premier Election Solutions, formerly Diebold; and Hart InterCivic are used in multiple states.
The most popular machines, the Diebold TSx, Sequoia Edge, ES&S iVotronic, and Hart InterCivic eSlate were all found to occasionally flip votes to the opposite of what the voter had chosen.
The Hart InterCivic system is REALLY bad, it allows anybody with access and a passcode to modify vote totals from an election without leaving behind any record of the modification. And these particular voting machines are used in more than 16 different states.
You could be the most morally rigid person in the history of the world, yet your vote could be bought by someone with an agenda you may not approve of. The companies behind these machines do not instill any sense of trust in me at all. They all keep insisting that there is nothing wrong and that everything is fine. Conspiracy theorists! Start your engines!
With all of the recent political controversy, perhaps the Presidential election of 2004 has escaped your memory. In that election, Bush got a near landslide of votes from the inner city areas that turned the tide and narrowly won the election for him. Even though exit polls showed only hours before that he was going to lose. Even though the inner city traditionally leans Democrat. Even though... well you get the idea.
The lifeblood of our nations democratic process is our ability to vote. If our votes are not being accurately counted, then we really have lost all semblance of control over our government. When that happens, this ceases to be a government "by the People, for the People" and becomes instead something sinister and, quite frankly, frightening.
Are you a Democrat? A Republican? An Independant? It really doesn't matter. I don't care if you're in the WIG Party. This matters to all of us. If my personal pick doesn't win in an honest election, I will be unhappy, but if he doesn't win and theres a hint of vote fraud, how will I ever know who SHOULD have won? How will you?

The moral to this story is this: When you vote, double check everything. If there's a receipt, check to be sure that your votes were counted properly. And if they are wrong, DO NOT STAND FOR IT!

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SSC #48 Viruses and Spyware Revisited

2007-12-17T18:26:00.001-08:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

One of the problems I'm finding about my articles is that I covered most of the really important things early on. This means that those of you who jumped onboard a little later may have missed some of the really good stuff.

I am still coming across people with either no antivirus software at all, or else out-of-date antivirus software, which is just as bad. So in the interest of helping those of you who may have only recently started reading my articles, this week I'm reprinting snippets from a couple of the early ones.

---

Many people speak about viruses and spyware as though they are one and the same thing, but this is not true. Often they work in tandem with each other and give your PC a underhanded double-whammy, but they are not in fact the same thing. Often a virus will install spyware (and other viruses) and vice versa. Think of it as a well-planned comprehensive package just designed to give you grief.

Viruses are small snippets of computer code that are not really complete files. They infect your machine by appending themselves to other files that will be run. Think of it like the P.S. area of a letter from your sweetie. But instead of "P.S I love you" its more like "P.S. I'm deleting important files and I'm stealing all your passwords and credit card information."

For easy and thorough virus removal, I recommend AVAST Home Edition found for FREE at www.avast.com. It updates itself regularly whenever an internet connection is present. So if you're a dial-up user keep that in mind if your speed is slow for a few minutes after you first connect. It scans email clients, all running processes, protects your web browser, scans all downloads (even from p2p), and you can scan any new files by right clicking them.

Next time you see an alert from your antivirus program, take note of the location of the infected file. If you see C:\WINDOWS\ as part of the file's location then it could be an important system file. Google the name of the file to see if it is a legit windows file. If not delete it. If it is important, try quarantining it or replacing the file from a backup. If all else fails, try to use system restore to rewind to before the infection occurred.

Learn to know when you're out of your depth. If it is a business PC or contains valuable irreplaceable data ask the help of a more experienced friend or seek professional help before taking shots in the dark. Be aware that the restore disks you probably received with your computer will often wipe everything before reinstalling Windows, you probably don't want that. Often valuable data is lost by repair attempts of the inexperienced. If you don't know what you're doing, talk to someone who does.

Spyware (also called malware or adware) is full-fledged programs designed to do much the same things that viruses do. The difference is that while viruses are just snippets of code, spyware is actually complete programs. Spyware is often downloaded by mistake by people looking for legitimate programs. Spyware's biggest avenue of infection are malicious websites whereupon spyware automatically installs itself via ActiveX controls. When you see popup ads that tell you that you are infected or that you need to download an "internet optimizer" to speed up your internet connection, those are usually fake. You don't just believe any advertisements you see in other places, online ads are no different. If you're curious about a program, ask a friend, preferably one who knows more than you. Offline word of mouth is still very valid in the online world. Don't just download and install any old thing you see that has flashy ads. That's the fastest and surest way to lose the use of your computer altogether. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Do your homework.

Spyware, like viruses can do anything from harmlessly displaying a few more unwanted ads (even when you're not surfing the web) to full-out waging war on your personal information.
he two most popular free spyware removal tools out there are Ad-aware and Spybot Search & Destroy.

Ad-aware 2007 Free is free for home use. It does a good job of removing spyware threats, has a pleasing appearance and is easy to use. You can also upgrade the program for a bit of cash and instead of just removing spyware it will actively block it from getting on in the first place.
Spybot S & D is another free program for spyware removal. I found it to be very effective at removing spyware as well, though I found it slightly less user-friendly.

After you've successfully cleaned your system get Spyware Blaster. This program does not remove spyware, instead it blocks it from coming in. These programs can be found on www.DOWNLOAD.com

Unlike antivirus software, you can use multiple anti-spyware programs on the same machine without conflicts. In fact I recommend if you want to be thorough. That being said, once you have anti-spyware software, run it weekly, or whenever you notice something suspicious. And when you scan for spyware, follow it up with a virus scan as well because they often run together. Always remember to check for updates for your scanning program before you scan, if it does not do that automatically.

Never get your antivirus or anti-spyware programs from a pop-up ad. It is like buying your kids vitamins from a stranger in a back alley. There are some fake security programs that are spyware in disguise. So consider yourself warned.

---

Hope that helps someone...

Til next time, stay safe!

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SSC #47 Remote Access

2007-12-10T18:42:00.001-08:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

    There are lots of reasons why a person might want to access their computer remotely. Perhaps you are traveling out of town and you left your driving directions at home on your desktop. Or perhaps you forgot to start downloading the next episode of Dexter before you left and you want to watch it as soon as you get home. Or perhaps you're running low on computer monitors and you want to make a headless server that you can control via another computer on your network. The possible reasons for remote controlling your computer are diverse and numerous.

    Fortunately, the means to do so are also diverse and numerous.

    Remote controlling your computer can take many paths and varying levels of complexity. There are solutions that require you to have software installed on both machines, such as VNC or PC Anywhere. These are about the best experience for usability because they are both relatively lightweight and don't take a lot of system resources to run. If you are an Ubuntu user, you already have VNC installed. You'll find it under System>Preferences>Remote Desktop.

    Either of these two programs will allow you to control your mouse and keyboard on the remote machine as though you were sitting in front of it. You will be able to see the desktop and any programs you have up. Take note that you cannot watch video from the remote machine across this, nor can you hear sounds or music. 3D games are off-limits as well. But you can open documents, change settings, and do normal every day stuff as though you were sitting in front of your home machine.

    The same rules apply when using the QnextMyPC feature of Qnext. This application is just about an internet Swiss Army Knife. Combining instant messaging using 5 major networks, file transfers of unlimited size as well as Java based remote control features, this program has got something for you. Its a little heavy on the resources, but if you can run it, the QnextMyPC feature will enable you to control your desktop from any Java enabled web browser. Even on some phones! This one is the easiest to set up, and the most readily accessed. You don't need to install any software on the controller end, just browse to Qnext.com and log into your desktop at home.

    Microsoft also has a remote desktop service built into Windows, and you can send control requests via MS Messenger. Personally I've never used this one. It may be really easy, I wouldn't know. Between my inherent distrust of all things Microsoft, and the fact that I hardly know anyone on Microsoft's messenger network, I just never needed it.

    Of all of these, my favorite is VNC. VNC stands out to me because there are versions for Windows and for Linux. And they are interoperable... you can control one from the other, both ways. On the Linux side its even possible to make it so that the remote control starts at the right edge of your screen. This makes it possible to have a Windows machine and a Linux machine side by side and control both via one mouse and keyboard. You just move your mouse from one screen to the other. Yeah. Its just that cool.

If you need help, I'm just a phone call or an email away.

email: straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com
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SSC #46 What to watch

2007-11-26T18:38:00.001-08:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

    As you may or may not be aware, the Writers Guild is on strike claiming that the big media companies are not fairly compensating them for their work. Personally I side with the Writers, but I'm not an expert on it.
    Be that as it may, today while I write this (Nov 26) the Writers Guild is purportedly meeting with the media execs to open up communications about ending the strike. By the time this article hits print, it may be over. Or it may not.
    If it doesn't end soon the majority of today's best TV shows will be entering re-run holding patterns indefinitely. The TV corporations had enough shows already in production at the time of the strike to last until January, for the most part. After that, its reruns and filler. In other words, prepare for a non-stop parade of reality TV. Ugh. Just shoot me now.
     This is a big concern for the media companies because they know that a lot of viewers will turn to other activities, and without the big viewer numbers, they can't charge for advertising what they normally would. Losing this kind of money, the media companies will eventually fold, they pretty much have to (its not like they have any creative talent themselves)... the question is how long will it take?
    A while back I wrote an article about streaming TV shows to your PC, which you can find by going to the following page http://TVStreaming.notlong.com (I used www.notlong.com to shorten the really long web address to something that wasn't so hard to type in)
    But since I'm ever on guard for things to talk to you about, dear reader, I've come up with a few more websites that weren't included in that article.

    Miro - (Win, Lin, Mac) This is a new and open source (yay!) media player that has more content on it than any of the other net video players. Its a little more involved to set up as you have to subscribe to some of the channels before you see all the available content, but with a little perseverance you'll find plenty of stuff to hold you over until the writers get back to working on Heroes. www.getmiro.com

    Hulu - (in browser) Hulu is the new website brought to you by joint venture of NBC Universal and News Corporation (try not to hold Fox News against them). This site boasts high quality streams of today's top shows. The only problem I see is that unless they also have yesterday's top shows, they're going to run out of em just like regular TV when the fallout from the Writers strike hits. Hulu is in beta stage right now, you have to sign up and wait for them to invite you into it. www.hulu.com

    Sidereel - (website) Sidereel is by far my favorite new TV show hotspot. On this one site they have all the info on your favorite shows, and if they don't have it, you can add it in yourself because it is user-editable. They also have links to stream individual episodes of your favorite shows from other websites. They don't host the video themselves, instead they are a hub from which you can find info about cool shows you may have missed in the past week, year, or decade and then go watch them. www.sidereel.com

    While you may not be able to watch your favorite characters get into and out of precarious situations, that doesn't mean you have nothing to watch. From the beginnings of TV to present, there is currently enough television programming out there that you could watch something different every waking moment of your life and not run out of shows.

    On second thought, thats kind of depressing. Go ride a bike.

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SSC #45 Talk Talk Talk

2007-11-15T21:43:00.001-08:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

    So you don't type so well. By the time you've hunt-pecked out "Hi there, loong tim no see!" the other party has done given you a 3 page description of their entire workweek. What to do, what to do... Oh yes, VOICE CHAT!
    You may not know it, but your computer can save you a lot of money on your long distance phone bill. If the people you talk to most also have a computer, you can even talk for free!   I'm not talking about a free twenty minute phone call, or only at certain times on certain days, I'm talking about 24/7 FREE, 365 days a year!


    In this article, I'll just hit the high spots.

    Skype - (Winows, Linux, Mac) Skype is about the most popular net-phone software out there. With it you can make free PC-to-PC phone calls and video calls (note, no video calls for Linux version... yet). You can purchase handsets that look and work just like a regular phone. If you want to set up an account with them, you can make really cheap calls from your PC to a regular phone line (they may have prepaid cards, I'm not sure). You can purchase the official Skype brand phones at places like Walmart... I saw some last time I was in Somerset.

    Gizmo - (Windows, Linux, Mac) This is the one that I use myself. Gizmo does not do video calls like Skype does, but Gizmo integrates seemlessly with Grandcentral.com which is fascinating new project recently purchased by Google. Using these two together, I have one number that will ring my house phone, my cell phone, and my laptop (running Gizmo) and I can pick up that call on any one of them, as well as transfer it between them... even during a call. This allows me to be hyper-available and never miss an important phone call. And if I do miss one, it goes to a unified voicemail box and will even email me notice that I have a voicemail. And I can listen to it online... Way Cool, no? Whats more, there's a button on my weblog that will connect a call from you to my GrandCental number automagically!
    I'll be switching my business advertisement to my Grandcentral number as soon as I've drawn up the new ads. GrandCentral is via invite only, meaning you have to be invited into it by a current user. I've got a few invites left, so if you're really interested in it, drop me a line and I'll invite you.

    Ekiga Softphone - (Windows, Linux) This one is full of features, but isn't for those of you who are easily intimidated. This net-phone allows you to make free PC-to-PC voice and video calls, EVEN ON LINUX! It can make calls to regular phones, but it takes some setting up. Its installed by default on Ubuntu Linux and its completely open-source.   From the Ekiga.org website -- "Ekiga is compatible with any software, device or router supporting SIP or H.323. It includes SwissVoice, CISCO, SNOM, ... IP Phones, but also software like Windows Messenger, Netmeeting, SJPhone, Eyebeam, X-Lite, ... or also the Asterisk popular IPBX, as well as any other commercial or Open Source IPBX. Ekiga is not compatible with Skype and will never be as long as their protocol will stay proprietary."

    As more and more people move to net-based phones, long distance bills may eventually become a thing of the past. These programs provide a real and inexpensive way to communicate with the people you need to talk to. While some of you may feel intimidated, keep in mind that they have the potential to save you lots of money. And with the cost of communications no longer a barrier between you and your loved ones, you may just find you keep in touch a lot more often.

    Keep in mind that these are just some of the available programs. There is a lot of internet phone software out there, so if you want a more comprehensive list, just point your browser to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_VoIP_software.

Next week: Have you heard about the Hollywood Writer's Guild strike? I'll be talking about how to find online enterainment when your favorite shows go into indefinate re-run holding patterns. Yay.

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SSC #44 Chat it up!

2007-11-12T17:39:00.001-08:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

    Often, one of the first joys a new computer user finds is chatting with friends and family across the internet. Some of you may have purchased your computer explicitly for this purpose. All in all, its a great way to keep in touch with loved ones, without raising your long-distance phone bill.
    But one problem you often run into is that not everyone you want to chat with uses the same chat network. Your sister may be on AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), your brother on Windows Live Messenger (MSN). Still further, your old collegiate chum may use Yahoo.
    To talk to all of these people, you'd think you would need to download the chat program for each network and install them. But there you would be mistaken.

Enter the Multi-Messengers
    A multi-messenger is one program that connects to multiple chat networks. There are a few of them out there, such as Trillian, Qnext, and my own personal favorite, Pidgin.
    I began my use of multi-messengers with Trillian, (www.ceruleanstudios.com) which had both a trial version and a pro version. Trillian connects to 5 chat networks including the big 4 (AOL, MSN, YAHOO, ICQ) and adds in the granddaddy of chat networks, IRC (Internet Relay Chat). It has a skinnable interface (meaning you can change how it looks) and has a system of plugins that lets you add extra features.
    Its a very nice program with lots of features for power users, but honestly, why pay for software when a free program is just as good or better?
    When facing a choice of upgrading to a newer version of Trillian, (and paying for it again), I took a chance and tried out Qnext. (www.qnext.com) Qnext is free. Qnext connects to all the same networks as Trillian, as well as its own Qnext chat network. It also does file transfers of unlimited size which is great for when you've left something on the PC at home that you need at work. Qnext runs on JAVA, which basically means that it works for just about any operating system that has java. You can use it on Windows, Macintosh, or Linux, and it'll look and work the same. For Windows users, it also lets you control your PC from just about anywhere in the world that has internet access. Very very handy. It is kind of big, though, because along with Qnext itself, JAVA is also loaded in your RAM at the same time, and on an older computer, this can really slow things down.
    I used Qnext for quite a while, but when I moved to using Ubuntu Linux, I learned of a program called GAIM.   GAIM started out as a Linux version of AOL's program AIM, but it just kept growing. After being faced with some legal issues from AOL over the similarity of the project's name, they changed the name of the program to Pidgin.
    Pidgin (www.pidgin.im) is free and open source. It runs on both Windows and Linux, and it comes installed by default on Ubuntu Linux.
Pidgin can connect to all of the following networks: AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, Groupwise, ICQ, IRC, MSN, MySpaceIM, QQ, SILC, SIMPLE, Sametime, XMPP, Yahoo, and Zephyr. Whew! 16 chat networks with one program, I think we have a winner here!
    Keep in mind that with any of these multi-messengers you have to set up accounts for each network that you wish to connect to. Also, multi-messengers often do not have the full functionality of the individual clients for each network. Namely, with multi-messengers, you cannot voice chat, or use Yahoo Audibles for instance... stuff like that. What you get is basic chat functionality. But you will be able to be visible on all of these networks using one program, which is WAY easier on your computer's hardware.
    So if you've got friends chatting all over the place, use a multi-messenger to gather them all together in one manageable window.

Next time, I'll be talking about voice chat, VOIP internet phones, and Skype! Talk to you later!

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SSC #43 Wireless Health Concerns

2007-11-05T16:57:00.001-08:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

    All day, every day, we are surrounded by and bombarded with radio waves. More things emit radio waves than you can probably think.
    Right now there is a lot of controversy surrounding WiFi (wireless internet) usage, and its associated health risks.
    In one camp, there are those who think that it can cause cancer, disrupt a good nights sleep, or just plain degrades general health. In the other are all of the scientists who, so far, have found no evidence that it is harmful at all.
    Radio frequency waves are part of a larger spectrum of radiation that goes all the way from X-rays, which are definitely harmful, through the infrared spectrum, (thats infra-red to some of you, you know who you are) which is known to cause skins cancer, on down into the radio spectrum which is used for just about everything wireless these days.
    Believe it or not, whether you are a WiFi user or not, you're most likely being bathed in radio waves right now as you read this. Wanna check? Turn on the radio... if you hear music, thats radio waves at work. Turn on the TV, do you get a station? No? thats just because you live in Russell County. But if you DO get a station, then that is also a sign of radio waves at work.   Here's a good one, look at your cell phone and see if you have any bars. If you can call someone with it, again, thats radio frequency radiation.
    Just because you turn off the radio, the TV, or switch off your phone doesn't mean they go away. They're always there, unseen, waiting to be received. The little keychain that you use to unlock your car? Radio waves. The power lines to your house emit radio waves. Your indoor cordless phone? Radio waves again. Baby Monitor? Garage door opener? Satellite TV? CB radio? Radio waves, radio waves radio waves! Remote for the TV? Well, thats most likely infrared (infra-red) but thats worse than radio waves (skin cancer, remember?).
    You get the picture. If you are concerned about your WiFi, why don't these things bother you as well?
    The short and skinny is that there is no conclusive evidence that radio waves cause the sort of problems that people are claiming. And theres a lot we don't know about it. I'm not going to tell you that it is safe, because I can't. We just don't know.
    But even if you go out into the wilderness, with not a man-made device in sight, there are still radio waves coming down from from space... Apparently, ET wants to phone home. Actually, spaceborne radiowaves are emitted from the stars themselves. Or you can consider the brightest emitter of radio waves in the sky... the sun.
    There is a company that makes WiFi-resistant paint, that you can use to block radio waves from entering your house. I've heard that it works, but I advise against using it unless you own your own home and you're absolutely sure that its WiFi thats causing you problems. I'd be really mad to move in somewhere and find that previous tenants had slathered that stuff all over and that none of my gear would work.
    If you're interested, you can find this anti-WiFi paint at http://emsectechnologies.com

Until next week, stay safe and try not to cook yourselves.

email: straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com
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SSC #42 Wireless Security

2007-10-29T18:01:00.001-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

Wireless Security

   If you use a wireless router in your home, you are essentially broadcasting your internet access in a rough sphere around your WiFi router. Any computer with the proper equipment (a compatible wireless card) that is within that sphere can pick up the signal and use your internet. That is, of course, unless you use encryption.
    Wireless encryption is reminiscent of scrambled World War II military radio messages. You need a certain code or key in order to decipher the message. Thats what is going on here as well, the only difference is that the messages are coming many thousands of times per second, and what is being carried is your internet.
    While there are several types of encryption, what you're likely to be dealing with comes in two main flavors.
    WEP is an older standard that is the most common. WEP stands for Wireless Equivalent Privacy. And for most uses it is fine. Unless you're living next to Jack Bauer or someone on his team, your network is likely safe. But still, it has a bad reputation because it can be cracked. The key to the network is scrambled and broadcast along with the signal. This "leak" makes it possible that your network could be accessed by unwanted parties, who would then have access to any files you have shared across your network, as well as the ability to download whatever they want across your registered IP address.

    WPA was created to address the security weaknesses of WEP. This newer standard allows you to broadcast your network without fear of being hacked into. If you have sensitive data on your network, WPA is for you. But keep in mind that it isn't supported on all routers, and its a little tricker to set up.

    I also must mention that keeping your network open, meaning without encryption, is not a bad option if you live far away from neighbors who might "borrow" some of your internet bandwidth. It certainly makes setting up computers a lot easier. And in some countries it has been successfully used as a defense in filesharing lawsuits, simply because there is no way of proving who downloaded what on an open network. I think there's a government term for this... ah yes, plausible deniability.

    There is also a company called FON, which has a network of shared WiFi access. Meaning simply that you share your wifi with other FON users, and likewise, whenever you are roaming around with your laptop and you happen across another FON network, you can access it for free! This is a pretty cool thing, but keep in mind that you might open up the door one morning to find some stranger checking his email on your lawn.   FON has special routers for this though, that will allow you to have both an Open and Secured network running simultaneously. Other FON users access the Open part, and you and your machines use the Secured. This keeps strangers from accessing your shared files.
    FON is used a lot heavier in Britain than the US, so if you're planning a vacation to see Big Ben, you may wanna sign up before you go.

    Next week I'll be discussing the controversy over health risks associated with all this wireless gadgetry.

See ya then!

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SSC #41 Wireless for beginners

2007-10-15T14:00:00.001-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

So you need to connect 2 or more computers in your house, but they're not in the same room, and you don't want to run cables all through the house, or drill holes in your walls... you need wireless networking.

Wireless networking doesn't have to be hard, and for Windows users it generally isn't. But there are some things to keep in mind.

First off, sharing a dial-up connection is pointless and will only give you frustration, so I wouldn't recommend it, while you may get it to work, dial-up is notoriously slow on ONE computer, imagine how slow it will crawl when you divide that connection in half!

There are many different kinds of wireless. Aside from infrared, and Bluetooth, or cellphone based wireless connections, there's the common wireless networking protocols 802.11something, which is what we'll be covering today.

I say "something" because theres lots of things that can go on the end of 802.11. There's A B D G and soon to be N. B and G are compatible together, whereas A routers connect only to A cards and the case is the same with D. 802.11N is a new standard that is due out soon, which is expected to be backwards compatible with B and G as well. On the equipment you buy, it may not say 802.11g, it may instead say Wireless-G (or B... you get the picture) Don't worry, its the same thing. Marketing departments just feel that letters are less scary to consumers than numbers are.

To network your broadband around the house, you're going to need a wireless router. These come in varying shapes and sizes, and a wide range of prices. Being the spendthrift (ladies, you would call it cheapskate) that I am, I've only used the less costly equipment. So I can't really tell you if spending more money makes a big difference.

Some routers are more easily configured than others. Generally, LinkSys makes some good ones that are easy to set up. D-Link are pretty good as well. I've had some problems with Belkin, and their tech support is horrid, but thats just my own personal experiences. You yourself may enjoy talking to people who barely know english. Personally, I don't. For Linux users, you won't be able to just put in the "Easy Install Disk" that comes with these routers, you'll have to configure them yourself. Its really not THAT hard, you might just have to submit to learning something new, which never hurts... too much.

Ok, so you got your wifi router, whats next? If one of your machines is near your router, you should just be able to plug it in via ethernet cable. Cool, you're halfway there. Now for the other machine, you'll need to get a wireless card. These come in many forms. If you have a desktop system, you can get a PCI wireless card, but you'll have to open up your case to install it.

Or the easy way out is to get a USB wireless card. This will work in any computer with an unused USB slot. This is what I recommend for those of you who aren't quite brave enough to venture inside your computer tower.
If you're on a laptop, you can get a PCMCIA wireless card that will slide right in the cardslot, but chances are if you have a fairly new laptop, it will have a wireless receiver built into it. Just make sure you know what type (A B D G) that it has inside before purchasing your wifi router. USB wifi cards will work for laptops too, but you may find them to be a bit unwieldy as they usually have a 6 ft cord on them.

You must understand going into this that you will NEVER get the advertised range out of these things without modifying them. Those ranges are based on some theoretical perfect situation that is unlikely to happen in your house (or mine).

Effective signal range can be shortened by just about any obstacle, like thick walls, furniture, or extremely lazy pets that won't move. If you think you're going to have a range problem, look into getting a wireless router with removable antennas. This will enable you to upgrade the antenna to one that will throw out the signal a little better. Adjusting antennas trying to get a stronger signal will likely remind you of the days before cable TV when you had to work the rabbit ears just right so you could watch Mork and Mindy without snow in the picture.

If you're a tinkerer, like me, its pretty easy to make a homemade directional antenna from a large coffee can, but while that gets the job done, and done well, it isn't likely to color coordinate with your wife's idea of taste.
Another inexpensive way to boost your signal a bit is to make a reflector shield out of aluminum foil. Though you're probably not going to see a really huge difference, its a good cheap way to boost a weak signal.

For the advanced-geek, you can REALLY increase your wifi router's range (5 to 10 miles line of sight) by jacking in to a modified Primestar dish!

Personally, I'll be keeping my eye out for any derelict dishes that I can pick up on the cheap! Who knows? Maybe I'll mount one on my car. While the increased wind resistance is sure to hit me in the gas tank, on the other hand, it will likely be so tacky that my wife will refuse to drive it... and that will save me some gallons in the long run. (but honey, it can pick up our wireless network from the Tennessee!) Do you think she'll go for that??

Me neither. :(

I'll continue next week by following up with the pros and cons of wireless security.

For more 802.11something information, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11

ATTENTION LINUX USERS!
Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon is OUT! To request a free copy, go to https://shipit.ubuntu.com
or for more info, go to www.Ubuntu.com

See you next time!

contact: straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com
archives: straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

SSC #40 General news

2007-10-06T20:14:00.001-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

    Sorry about last week folks, I missed my deadline. Did ya miss me?

    There's lots going on lately that may be of interest to you. If you recall, awhile back I wrote about Dell making the uber-smart decision to start selling PCs pre-loaded with Ubuntu Linux. Well it seems that having this powerhouse seller on the Linux team has really turned some heads. Perhaps you recall me complaining about ATI's driver support for Linux? Well, they are still a little shoddy on their support for their older cards, but they've recently committed themselves to providing open source hardware specifications for their newer graphics cards. In fact, a new driver set has already been released. Who knows? Perhaps they read my article! Or maybe it has something to do with Dell saying that they wouldn't be buying from hardware manufacturers that didn't support open source drivers. Hmmm... nah, it was definitely the article.
    What this means to Linux users is that there are now three different graphics card makers (ATI, Nvidia, Intel) who are committed to competing for your graphics card slot. And competition isn't a bad thing at all. Now, perhaps if I write a scathing article about Wireless card makers...
    Another big thing that is happening shortly is that Ubuntu is about to release their next version, Ubuntu 7.10, codenamed Gutsy Gibbon. This new version promises to have a lot of new features for those of you with Linux compatible accelerated graphics cards. If you wanna see what I'm talking about, go to www.youtube.com and search for Compiz Fusion. Yeah, its just that cool.
    Ubuntu releases a new version about every 6 months. In fact, 7.10 means 2007, 10th month (October). With each new version, the code names go up a letter. The earliest I'm familiar with was 6.04 Dapper Drake, and 6.10 Edgy Eft after it. I'm currently writing on 7.04 Feisty Fawn. After Gutsy Gibbon, the next version will be 8.04 Hardy Heron. Personally I was hoping they'd call it Hungry Hippo, but you can't have everything.
    Of course, updating to a new operating system every 6 months would be a real pain in the rear, except that it really isn't. Starting with Feisty, they've made it so that you can just update your existing Ubuntu installation to the newest version quite easily. No need to re-install, and all your personal files stay put! Now isn't that thoughtful?
    If you've bought a new computer recently, you're likely dealing with learning a whole new operating system... Microsoft Vista. While Vista has a slew of exciting new features, many users are expressly not happy with it, claiming that it is so bloated that it makes their brand new systems seem sluggish. So many have complained, in fact, that a few of the bigger PC companies have quietly begun to offer" downgrade" disks that will let you replace Vista with Windows XP. So if you're struggling with Vista, or you're aggravated that your high powered new PC doesn't feel too high powered, you should contact your PC's maker and see if they offer a downgrade.
    But getting away from computer geekdom for a moment, the thing that I am definitely MOST excited about is the new Radiohead album coming out on October 10th.
    I'm really excited by this for many reasons, not least of all being that I'm a HUGE fan. But even better, currently Radiohead is without a label. They are not under contract to any music companies. Of course, being a world-class band, they would have no problems finding a new contract if they wanted to, but they've instead opted on a new way to do things.
    Starting October 10th, they're going to let their fans decide on how much they want to pay for downloads of the album. If you only want to pay a penny, you only pay a penny. For the true fan, there's also a boxed set priced at around $80 that includes two vinyl records, two cd's and various artwork and fan pleasing items.
    So, you say, this band is giving away their music, so what? Well, when you look at the fact that the RIAA (Recording Industries of America Association) just won a lawsuit against a private citizen for over $200,000.00, and you realize that most of today's music is more about monetary notes than musical notes, it is really refreshing to see a band (my fave band) taking the "industry" out of the music industry.
    So, even if you're not a fan... even if you have never heard Radiohead before in your life, I urge you to go to www.radiohead.com and download the new album and give it a listen. And while you do that, keep in mind that what you're hearing is the sound of change.

Next week I begin discussing wireless networking!

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SSC #39 Video Editing (finally!)

2007-09-25T09:52:00.001-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

Wikipedia defines "video editing" thusly
--Video editing is the process of re-arranging or modifying segments of video to form another piece of video. The goals of video editing are the same as in film editing the removal of unwanted footage, the isolation of desired footage, and the arrangement of footage in time to synthesize a new piece of footage.

That being said, in order to have everything go smoothly, you need to have all of your ducks in a row.

    First, have some clear idea of what you want your finished video to look like. If you go into the video editing process without any idea what you want out of it, you're output is not likely to make much sense to the person(s) viewing it later.
    Learn how to use your video editor. For you Windows user, your best bet is Nerovision Express. Many of you already have it on your PC and don't know it. If you have the Nero Suite, then its there. But regardless what you're using, play with it and figure out how everything works and what all the buttons do before you attempt a serious project.
Make sure you can cut scenes down to the exact moment, learn how to add background music if appropriate, learn transitions. You wouldn't try to build a house if you didn't know how to wield a hammer, would you? So play with it, do some non-serious stuff that you don't plan on showing off. Once you're comfortable you know what you're doing, then you can feel free to get all Spielburg on something.
    Make sure you have all the neccessary codecs needed to convert any and all videos that will be in your project. It can bust you out of your creative process rather quickly if you have to jump online and search for codecs or software. This should be figured out in your playing around phase.
    You don't have to go too flashy. Just because your program has 50 some-odd special transition effects, doesn't mean you need to use every one during the half hour of footage from last Christmas. I try to follow the KISS rule when it comes to video projects... Keep It Simple Stupid. It will keep your finished videos from looking too obviously amateur, and will speed up the final encoding process since those transitions add lots of processor work.
     Keep your intended audience in mind. When you're making a creative work, its sometimes helpful to envision who you think will be enjoying it in the future, and add or remove elements based on how you think they would like it.

    If you're mixing to a DVD, it adds a touch of class if you spend some extra time on the title screen. Many editors allow you to loop video sequences and sound bites during the main menu sequence, some even allow you to use parts of the video content to make animated buttons!
These extra touches add a lot of polish to a DVD project and are the icing on the cake.
   You should do all of your footage editing before you go to make a DVD. Not many programs do everything, but even in those that do, its possible to lose your vision in the midst of all the complexity.

If you'd like some more tips, feel free to write me. Or if you have some tips you care to share, you are welcome to leave comments to this article on the weblog.

See ya next week!

straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com

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#38 How it went with SFD '07

2007-09-16T18:57:00.001-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

    First off, I'm happy to say I'm writing this from a laptop that was given to me just today by my mother-in-law. I plan to put it to good use! Thanks Sherry!
    Secondly, I'd like to tell everyone how it went with Software Freedom Day. And to start that, I must start out with an apology. It seems a few people called asking when we would be starting up, and my wife told them that we'd be getting out there around 9am. But unfortunately, it was a classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, because my plans were to get out there at about 1pm. Not because I'm a lazy cuss, (which I am) but because I knew we'd be up late the night before burning off CD after CD in order to give away. We finished up the night before, which I am tenuously calling Software Freedom Day Eve, at about 3:30am.
    So no, 9am just wasn't going to work. So to those of you who were looking for us out there early Saturday morning. I am really sorry. I'm sure your distress was causing me some troubled dreams.
    We went out there with just under 100 CD's and only managed to give out about 40 of them. It probably would have went better had we gotten out there earlier. My wife even baked some Open Source Oatmeal Raisin cookies for the event! (the recipe *should* be on the blog by the time you're reading this, so if you wanna "compile" some cookies for yourself at home, you can)
    It seemed that a lot of people just assumed that we were trying to sell something and avoided us just on principle. But for those of you who did take the time to come over and get a cookie and some software, thanks for taking the time to do so.
    Next year we hope to do a better job of it. And I'll make a point to have all of the preparations done in advance so that come next Software Freedom Day Eve, I can be snuggled, all warm, in my bed while visions of penguins dance in my head. In other words, I'll get an earlier start.

I don't see why you people put up with me. Anyway...

NEXT WEEK: Back to tips on video editing, as promised.

If you're having PC problems and need some help, call (270) 866-7608 (before 8pm) to set up an appointment and I'll be happy to come help!
See my ad elsewhere in this paper for rates!

Questions or comments:
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com
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#37 Lots of announcements

2007-09-09T16:24:00.001-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

This is the week I'm supposed to tell you about how to edit your videos, or at least I said so last week, but there's a lot going on so I probably won't have the room to write about it in the detail it deserves.

As you should know, if you read my column regularly, Software Freedom Day is coming up on September 15th, and my family will be one of only two teams in the entire state that will be giving out stickers, flyers and free CD's full of software. We'll be giving out Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn CD's for those of you who would like to give the most popular distrobution of Linux a try. And for those of you not quite brave enough to step out of your virus harassed comfort zones, we'll be giving away copies of the Open CD.

The Open CD is full of free open-souce software for Windows. There's lots of useful programs on there that I think you'll enjoy, and which will familiarize you with the concept and quality of open source software.

We should be spending a little bit of time in both Jamestown and Russell Springs handing out things and trying to spread awareness of the Open Source Sofware Movement.

Another announcement I have for you is that I've posted all of the past StraightShootinComputin articles online for anyone who may have became a regular reader a little late in the game and would like to go back and see what they missed. You can find all my past articles at
http://straightshootincomputin.blogspot.com. They're laid out nicely, and you're welcome to comment on them right there underneath each article, as well as send individual articles to friends. This is a great way to share this column (if thats something you wanna do) with friends and family outside of the Russell County area.

Questions or comments:
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

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#36 Making DVD's

2007-09-07T18:48:00.000-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

After last week's article, hopefully you're somewhat familiar with what is entailed when working with video files. Due to the user-friendly-ness (if thats a word) of many of todays DVD authoring suites, you won't need to know how most of that works, but where that knowledge will come in handy is when something DOESN'T work, you'll have a pretty good idea why.
In Windows, there are quite a few DVD makers out there, and I'm sorry to say that there aren't any All-Star free ones out there. There are some that are free, but either they require you to convert videos into MPEG-2 format first (requiring another program) or they do all the encoding, but don't allow you to make nice menus and title screens for your DVD's. One such program is DVD Styler (www.dvdstyler.de) and is a quick and easy solution for someone who's videos are already in MPEG-2. Another free solution is called DVD Flick (www.dvdflick.net) which can convert just about any video you have and burn it to a disk, but doesn't offer much in the way of window dressing. If you just want a versatile down and dirty DVD maker, this one is for you.
It won't always be this way though, one up and coming free program is Avi2DVD (www.trustfm.net/divx/SoftwareAvi2Dvd.html) which promises to do conversions of just about any file you have a codec for and even lets you do menus. It looks like it has a little ways to go on the user friendly-ness (theres that word again) but if you're willing to take the time to learn to use it, or if FREE just happens to fit your pricerange, I say give it a shot.
Moving into the Proprietary (costs $$) software realm, NeroVision Express is about the best I've found combining both ease of use and a good feature set including video converting, stable burning, and the ability to make some nice looking menus. And being that many of you likely received Nero pre-installed when you bought your computer, its possible you already have it and just aren't aware of it.
Another good name brand DVD authoring tool is Ulead VideoStudio 11 ($99). Meanwhile, the editors over at C|Net recommend a program called DVDComposer 1.5 ($130). I've never personally used that one, but I do have a bit of trust for the guys over at C|Net.
After reading this, I hope you got a good sense of just how many options are available. When looking for software like this, always ask around a bit or get a recommendation from a trusted source (like me!) because there is lots of software out there that promises the moon, but only gives you a big stinking piece of cheese.

For further reading, check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_authoring

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#35 Video editing concepts

2007-09-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

This week, I'm introducing you to the many different
elements of video editing that I will be covering in the
next few weeks. I won't be mentioning software today, just
going over the terminology that you'll need to understand
in order to get a clear picture of what video editing entails.

First, understand that a video file, like any other file is
just made up of ones and zeros. In order to use the ones and
zeros in a video file, your computer must have a codec installed
that can read it. A codec is short for code/decode. Much like
scrambled military radio signals, video files are packed tight
with information. Without the codec, your computer can't make heads
or tails of the file, and therefore cannot play it.
Secondly, recognize that there are both Audio and Video codecs.
A video file will likely contain sound as well as visuals. In
order
for your PC to correctly play a video, you must have both the audio
and the video codecs that the file is encoded in.
The higher the quality of a video, the higher the bitrate of the file,
and also the bigger the file will be. Bitrate just means amount of
data per second.
Framerate means video frames per second. Much like an old
reel-to-reel projector, video files are made up of thousands of
still pictures that progress through the action being shown.
Re-encoding a video will allow you to change the bitrate,
framerate, and even the codecs for video or audio or both, provided
you have the codec the original is encoded in, and also the codec you
want to convert it to.
Re-encoding a video can make it much smaller, but doing so can possibly
compromise the quality. Re-encoding can only worsen the quality of a video.
It can never create a higher quality video than what is started with.

I think thats enough for this week, let those terms and meanings
roll around in your head for a bit and settle in. You'll be needing
them next week. See you then!

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#34 Couch Potato Heaven

2007-09-07T18:46:00.000-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

Having gotten hip to all this new-fangled internet media, you're probably pining away for the relative simplicity of your couch and your oldest and bestest friend, the remote. Why is it that if the remote goes missing, we'll spend 20 minutes searching frantically for it instead of just getting up and changing the channel manually? Its because we wish to reserve the right to be lazy at a later time. And I can definately understand that. I would do the dishes from the couch if it were at all possible. (I'm crossing my fingers that some day it will be!)

Now in order to enjoy this cornicopia of PC-based TV in true American style, we've just got to get a remote. You don't want to have to grab for a mouse every time you want to turn down your streaming
internet radio, do ya? Fortunately, there are lots of ways to do this. One popular way is with the Streamzap PC Infrared Remote (approx $50). This very functional remote has 35 buttons and controls most PC media players using the included software, right out of the box, and hooks in to your PC using a simple USB plug.

For those of you who are more daring, or wish to have a more customized remote control, you do-it-yourselfers would probably like the Creative PC-DVD Infrared Remote. You can also find it by its model number CIMR100. When looking to buy this remote, be careful as some places like to try and overcharge the
unsuspecting buyer. I've seen them priced over $150, but those are people just trying to make a quick buck from people who don't know better. If they're charging over $20 for it, keep looking elsewhere. This bare-bones remote features an infrared receiver that connects via serial cable, and a credit-card sized remote control. It doesn't come with any software, but I highly recommend a program called uICE (Universal Infrared Control Engine) which costs $20.

Using this nifty little program, you can program the functions for each individual button on the CIMR100. If the included remote doesn't have enough buttons for your liking, you can use almost any old universal remote you have laying around. In the end, the CIMR100 and uICE together cost nearly as much as the Streamzap, but if you happen to lose the CIMR100 remote, you can just head to the store and buy a new cheap universal remote and get back to being the kind of couch potato that other couch potatoes look up to.

Keep in mind this isn't an exhaustive list. There are tons of other PC-remote solutions out there. I recommend you do a little comparison shopping before settling on one. I recommend places like Pricegrabber.com or Pricewatch.com when it comes to ferreting out the best prices online.

Next week, I'll begin covering Video Editing, so hope you come back for that,
I'm sure you will find it interesting.

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#33 Streaming TV Shows to your PC

2007-09-07T18:43:00.002-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

So far, we've covered streaming Internet Radio to your computer, and playing DVD's on it as well. This week, I'll talk about some of the many ways you can watch television shows on your PC. And when I say there are many ways, I mean it. You can stream many shows directly from TV network homepages like CBS.com, NBC.com, ABC.com... so for instance, if you missed the Season Finale of LOST or Grey's Anatomy, you can go and watch it (not right this second, finish the column first). Keep in mind that the quality of the show depends on your broadband speed, which locally, isn't all that great compared to more metropolitan areas.

There are other websites dedicated to hosting multiple channels/streams of content, such as Channelchooser.com or BeelineTV.com. Other sites let you watch amusing clips and home-brewed comedy such as Blinkx.com or LikeVid.com. And theres always the undisputed king of streaming video, YouTube.com which hosts videos on just about everything. An option for those of you who like to stay current on what's happening in the world is CNN.com. Another great site I just found out about is www.tv-links.co.uk. This site gathers links to TV shows hosted on other video sites such as YouTube. A definate must-see.

These are just a small percentage of the website-based video content providers you have at your disposal. Just google the term "video search" and you'll see a whole lot more. Still other websites allow you to watch streaming Internet-only TV channels using Windows Media Player. One such site is www.webtvlist.com, and there are more to be found if you search around a bit.

Now getting away from websites, there are also programs that are dedicated to streaming continuous
content to you. A relatively new TV player is TVU (www.tvunetworks.com) which hosts quite a few streaming channels, but a newcomer thats making a lot of waves is called Joost (www.joost.com). I'm sure there are a few more by now. But these are the best ones I'm aware of at the moment.

Yet another way to watch TV on your PC is by getting a video capture card ($50-$70). A video capture card usually has a coaxial connector on the back for your cable-line, and often an RCA jack as well to get video from a VCR or VHS camcorder (helpful in capturing home movies in order to make DVD's). What this will do is allow you to capture video directly from your cable TV line and display it on your desktop or record it to your hard drive for later viewing.

Some of the really nice ones will let you record one show while watching another, or record two shows simultaneously. Essentially, it turns your PC into a DVR (Digital Video Recorder). Coupled with a TV-out enabled video card, your PC will take the place of your analog cable box (not sure how it works with Satelite or digital cable, sorry) as well as allow you to watch literally thousands of videos from the web.

Add in all the PC games your hardware can stand, and you have one really nice multi-media machine.

Oh, and whats all this high tech TV wizardy without a remote? See ya next week for that!

(you can go watch Grey's Anatomy now, thanks for being patient!)

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#32 DVD on your PC

2007-09-07T18:43:00.001-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

HOW TO PLAY DVD'S ON YOUR PC

The next step in replacing your entertainment center's components
with your PC is replacing your DVD player.
Today's new computers pretty much all come with a DVD-ROM (reader)
or DVD-R/DVD-RW (reader/writer) as standard issue. But if you have an
old clunker, fear not, they're actually pretty cheap. You can find a
DVD-ROM for about $23 (including shipping) or a DVD-RW for about $10 more
from Newegg.com. They used to be a lot more expensive than that, I have
a buddy who bought a DVD-RW when they first came out with them, and it cost
him a little over $400! (hey Bobby :-P) Apparently, it pays not to be an
early-adopter of new technology.
Having the newest and fastest stuff is
only good for bragging rights, and then only good for about 4 to 6 months.
For instructions on how to install a DVD drive in your PC, check out
http://pcworld.about.com/magazine/1904p196id41021.htm but skip the part
about PCI-based MPEG-2 decoders as you won't need one.
If your computer already has a DVD drive--reader or writer--then
you're most of the way there already. In fact, many new machines are set
up to play DVD's out of the box. So pop one in and see what happens.
If it tells you something about not having the proper plugins or decoders,
fear not, just go to www.videolan.org and download the VLC Media Player.
This robust player will play just about any video you throw at it, including
DVD's.
Furthermore, its FREE! Its available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, so no
matter what operating system you use, VLC is there for you. It has all of
the needed codecs built in, so you won't need to add any.
Now you can sit back and enjoy your DVD's on your PC screen, or if your video
card has TV-out, you can pipe it on over to your bigscreen TV!

Next week I'll be covering multiple ways to stream TV shows to your
computer... See ya then!

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#31 Move over TV

2007-09-07T18:42:00.001-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

Your computer can be used for entertainment in many
diverse ways. Many of you already use it for
communication and games, but it is possible to get
much much more than that from your machine.
In our house, we've not had a TV for a few years
now. No cable, no dish. We've just had our
computers and our broadband internet connection.
We've not missed TV at all, in fact, when we go to our
friend's houses, commercials usually catch us by
surprise.
If you're one of those people who just can't live
without your bigscreen, don't worry, using a video
card with a TV-out, you can output whats on your PC
monitor to your TV screen, regardless of its size.
And they make wireless keyboards these days with a
100-foot range, so there's no doubt that it will reach
to your La-Z-Boy. As with gaming, I'm going to break
this topic up over the next few weeks so that I can
get into more detail. But to give you an idea of
what will be covered, you can use your computer to
replace your stereo, dvd-player, cable/satelite box,
DVR/Tivo, and also record from your camcorder to
capture and edit your home movies.

REPLACING/INTERFACING YOUR STEREO WITH YOUR PC

Most of you probably already know this, but for
those of you who don't... as long as your computer has
a CD drive in it, you can use it to play store-bought
audio disks. Windows Media Player does this just
fine, and in fact, you can save songs from your audio
disks to your harddrive so you don't have to switch
out the disk every time you want to hear a song. You
can have your entire CD collection living on your hard
drive and mix up custom playlists to suit whatever
mood strikes you.
You can also download music from the internet from
places like MP3.com, Lulu.com and from programs like
Itunes and those "other" programs.
For radio, with DJ's and everything, there's
Shoutcast.com Shoutcast uses the net to stream
internet radio stations to your computer. While you
won't find out local weather and events from internet
radio, you will find much more variety than anything
you could possibly tune in on AM, FM, XM or Sirius. I
like to listen to the stream from Beatlesradio.com
myself.
Now you may be wondering how those tiny PC speakers
are supposed to measure up to a full-fledged stereo.
Well, if you already have a nice sound system, they
don't have to. If your stereo has RCA-jacks on the
back you can buy a cord from Radioshack (1/8th in.
male stereo plug to male stereo RCA plugs) for under
$10 that will let you hear your PC through your
stereo. If your stereo doesn't have inputs on the
back, you can spend a bit more and get an FM
transmitter to pump your PC to your FM dial.
If you don't have a pumping stereo, you can always
invest in a set of premium PC speakers. They can get
as big and loud as the best stereo systems out there.
Though keep in mind that if you want to get a 7.1
Surround Sound setup, that you'll need a soundcard
that outputs in that many channels. It all comes down
to how much you want to spend.

Next week, I'll cover playing DVD's on your PC.

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#30 Computer Gaming - Linux Gaming

2007-09-07T18:41:00.001-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

For a long time, Linux has had a reputation for not being all that great for playing games, but I'm here to tell you, its just not so anymore.
When it comes to playing games on Ubuntu Linux, there are several routes to go. There are lots of simple games--like 60+ kinds of solitaire and tons of children's games--available via the package manager.
Some of the best Windows games are now coming out for Linux as well, such as Quake 4, America's Army, or Return to Castle Wolfenstein. There are also tons of awesome 3D games that you'll only see on Linux! A good place to see what's available for Linux is www.happypenguin.org
If a game doesn't have a version built for Linux, don't fret, there's another way to go. Linux has a program named Wine (WINdows Emulation) that will run many Windows applications (including lots of games!) A company called Transgaming has taken Wine and upgraded it to a new program called Cedega that is specifically for running Windows games. Cedega boasts improved DirectX compatibility and can play many more games than Wine does... the only problem is, to get Cedega, you must join their website, which costs $5 a month or $55 a year. But for that subscription, you get nearly constant upgrades and updates as they make the program compatible to more and more games.
Using Cedega, you can play top games like World of Warcraft, Elderscrolls IV: Oblivion, Medieval 2: Total War, and Need for Speed Carbon and many more.
Another program that does basically the same thing is called CrossOver Linux. It handles new games like Half Life 2 and Call of Duty 2 (soon). It also handles Windows applications like Photoshop and MS Office. Crossover Linux costs about $40 and comes with 6 months of support.
Keep in mind that you'll need a pretty nice nVidia graphics card to play any 3D games on Ubuntu (or any kind of Linux for that matter). ATI graphics cards are great hardware-wise, but their driver support for Linux is abysmal. There have been petitions to ATI and mass phone-ins to express the Linux community's disappointment with ATI's support, but so far they seem to be turning a blind eye.
In summary, Linux gaming has quite a lot going for it and is starting to get the attention it deserves from developers. Making the choice to switch to Linux doesn't mean you'll have to give up gaming as there are lots of Linux-only games, tons of Windows games that will work, and it just gets better every day.

Thats about it for gaming, next week I'll begin explaining how to put your PC at the heart of your entertainment system.

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#29 Computer Gaming - The Right Card for YOU!

2007-09-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

When it comes to picking the best video card for your machine, what it really comes down to is what kind of slot is available for it to fit in. There are many different types of PC card slots, and its a pretty good way to guess the age of a PC if you don't know already. Keep in mind that the only way to upgrade what slots you have is to upgrade your motherboard or get a new machine. Note, if you wish to know what these slots look like so you can identify what's in your machine, just go to Google and do an image search for the type of slot.
The oldest slots I have dealt with are ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) and they went out of style a long time ago. An ISA slot couldn't handle a graphics card from today if you begged and pleaded.
The next step up from ISA is PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect). A PCI slot can handle the lower end of the graphics cards from yesteryear. Your computer most likely has a few of these slots because they're used for just about everything, not just graphics. The best card for this slot (by online reviews) is the nVidia GeForce FX5700 (approx $90), but be warned, they're hard to find and be sure its a PCI card, because this model also comes in AGP.
AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port Interface) was the successor to the PCI slot. AGP was also the first slot dedicated solely to graphics. It came with increasing data transfer factors (2x, 4x, 8x) as time went by that let data flow through the port with increasing speed. Reviews say that the best AGP card out there is the nVidia XFX GeForce 7900 GS. And they're not too hard to find online for around $180.
The newest and fastest graphics slot yet is the PCI-e or PCX slot, which stands for PCI-express. This is the current graphics card slot of choice for the hardcore gamer. Like the AGP, PCI-e come with modifiers like x2, x4, x8, x16 and x32, but unlike AGP where these are factors of transfer rates, this number represents the number of data channels or "lanes" available for data to travel through. Each lane allows 2.5 Gbits/sec of data transfer. Being that this is the slot that all the graphics card companies are supporting right now, picking the best card is a bit difficult because the title will likely be taken by a different card next week. And some of the prices of these cards go way up there ($400-$600) for the top-end. But a good reasonably priced card can be found for around $80 to $150 so just shop around online to find one that fits your budget.

You may have noticed that the cards I mentioned above were from nVidia. There's pretty fierce rivalry between nVidia and another company, ATI (recently bought by AMD) over the graphics card market, and there are fans on both sides. For a long time, I preferred ATI over nVidia hands down. NVidia's cards were often more powerful, but I always felt ATI's cards had more features, such as TV-out support and dual monitor support and such. Now that I've gone to Linux though, ATI no longer is my favorite brand. ATI doesn't support Linux very well, and even their best hardware suffers from lack of proper drivers in Linux. This is no one's fault but ATI. NVidia has caught up with them in the features, and has excellent Linux driver support. If you're even going to consider gaming in Linux, nVidia is definately the way to go.

Next week I will wrap up the gaming tips with an article solely on Linux gaming... whats available just for Linux, and also how you can run many Windows games on Linux.

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#28 Computer Gaming - Requirements

2007-09-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

Today's hottest games take some pretty strong hardware to run. You could be reading this while driving home with your new machine from the computer store even now (wow, you can read and drive?) and unless you bought a PC that is specifically built for gaming, chances are you can't run the newest games. And believe it or not, for some of the best games, a computer that can run them with all the graphics maxxed out doesn't exactly exist yet. Oh, they can be run, but some of the more taxing features have to be turned down or off, else they run choppy and slowly. Doing this allows a game to look up to date on hardware built five years from now, or at least thats the intention.
A top of the line gaming rig has to have it all. It definately needs a recent video card in order to handle the visual components of the game, it needs a good processor and lots of fast RAM in order to handle the huge gaming worlds and everything happening at once. It needs a fast hard-drive in order to pump the data where it needs to be when it needs to be. A good USB gamepad, flight-stick or racing wheel can make a big difference in some games. And recently, they've come up with whats called a dedicated physics card. This card does all of the physics related calculations for games so that it takes that task off of your processor. Game physics has to do with everything from how your Ferrari handles to how the bad guy flips over the railing like a ragdoll after you empty two full clips in his zombified head!
Now you can often run good games with a lesser than awesome machine, but graphics and effects need to be turned down. And in some instances you just plain can't. If a game requires 3D accelleration, or Hardware T&L (Transforming and Lighting) then your video hardware built into your motherboard isn't likely to cut the mustard. Familiarize yourself with the hardware that you have, and always check out the Hardware Requirements on the back of a game before you purchase it, because once it is opened, you won't be able to take it back to the store. The excuse "It won't run on my machine" just won't work (believe me I've tried it) and you'll just likely end up giving the game to someone who can run it, or else setting it on the shelf where it will continue to taunt you as it slowly gathers dust.
Next week I'll cover how to choose a good video card for your machine, and 3D gaming on Linux. See ya then!

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#27 Computer Gaming - Retro

2007-09-07T18:34:00.002-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

Computer Gaming has been around nearly as long as computers themselves have. It has gone from rudimentary dots and blips to hyper-realistic intense 3D scenery with positional sound and realtime weather effects. Needless to say, it has come a long way.
Today, I'm going to talk a bit about games that will play on older hardware. Most of you out there probably don't have a top-of-the-line gaming PC, even if you just bought it last week. The majority of systems sold just don't have the hardware to handle the top of the line games, even fresh off the shelf. The majority of new systems (unless they were designed for gaming) need some upgrading to be done before they can handle the intense number crunching involved in today's most beautiful games.
So in the interest of giving the most useful information to the greatest amount of people, I'd like to tell you about Home of the Underdogs, HOTU for short. You'll find it at www.the-underdogs.info (please note that the address ends in .info, not in .com) HOTU is not a game, its where old games get born again. HOTU is a collection of freeware, and abandonware. Freeware is a pretty easy word to figure out, Abandonware is software that was copyrighted, but since the company holding the copyright is now out of business, there's no one to file any lawsuits. Hence, the software is abandoned by its creators, and now up for grabs. If you're running a very very old machine, don't fret, they've got the some of the best games from the DOS era, and while they won't compare to this year's Game of the Year, they'll be more fun than solitaire and Jezzball. You can even find text-based adventure games, and take a stroll down memory lane using your imagination to fill in the visuals, ala the old Zork classics.
For those of you brave enough to try Linux, there are tons of free games to be had, of just about every gaming genre that there is. You only need to google a search for the terms "Linux Games" to see whats available, in Ubuntu, searching for "game" in Synaptic Package Manager brings up 877 different game packages. More on 3D linux gaming next time.
For casual gaming, there are tons of Flash games that will run in your web browser available online at places like Pogo.com or UnlimitedWebGames.com and many many more sites like them.
Next week I'll explain about 3D accelerators, physics engines, and the many different types of card-slots that exist for graphics cards, all of which is important to know for those wishing to play the latest high-end PC games.

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#26 Things to Come

2007-09-07T18:34:00.001-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

You've undoubtably heard that computers can do some pretty amazing things, and yet most people just use their own machine to check their email and maybe buy something on ebay from time to time. In the next several weeks I plan on giving an overview of just some of the many many things that are capable with the average home computer. The purpose of this is to open your eyes to the versatility of the machine you already own, and perhaps spur you on to getting more creative enjoyment out of your computer.

For the most part, my articles have been aimed at repair and maintenance, with a little news thrown in. But here begins a new chapter. Below is a list of topics I will be covering in the near future, so if you're not a regular reader of my article, this may be a good time to become one.

Games and Requirements - I will cover a wide range of game topics, whats going on now, and some golden oldies you may have missed.

Media (movies television music) - How to put your PC at the heart of your entertainment system.

Video Editing - From home movies to amateur filmmaking, dvd authoring and special effects

Wireless Desktop - the easy way to network, learn about building encrypting your home wireless network

Home Control - More than just turning the lights on and off, you can fully automate much of your house

Home Recording - Garage bands can do more now than ever before!

Teleconferencing, Chat and Instant Messaging - Still just using one chat network? I'll show you how to really get connected

Internet Telephone (VoIP) - From its infancy to today, learn about talking through the net

Digital Assistant - How to use your computer so that you'll never forget another appointment, birthday or anniversary

Voice Control - Not a good typist? Control your machine using your voice, or dictate into a wordprocessor

Touch Screen Control - Not just for Star Trek or fast-food joints anymore, control your machine with a touch screen

Remote Control - Use your machine from anywhere with a web connection

Remote Access - Access your files from work, on vacation, anywhere

PC Customization - From custom cases to sprucing up your desktop, make your machine a hotrod!

Child Friendly Computing - From internet nannys to keeping your kids from deleting important files

Broadband - Differences between different kinds of broadband

Digital Photography - Whats a megapixel and why it matters

Home Networking - Hook up all your machines at once and share files across your house

Multi-Monitor Systems - You can get more done when you've got more desktop space!

As you can see, we'll be getting into some pretty interesting stuff, so stay tuned every week! It all begins next week, so see you then!

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#25 Ubuntu on Dell Machines!!

2007-09-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

Dell finally listens...

Back in February, Dell launched a website called Ideastorm whose sole purpose was to garner feedback from the web community on what they could do to attain their former glory as the biggest and best PC distributer. The overwhelming response they got back was that people wanted Linux pre-loaded on Dell machines. Literally, it was a landslide of requests, and after a little deliberation, Dell responded by teaming up with Canonical, the makers of Ubuntu Linux.
Now you can buy a Dell machine pre-loaded with Ubuntu Linux. Everything is pre-configured, all drivers are present and working and you have Dell's customer support to back you up.
Preliminary reports say that the Ubuntu Dells are good solid machines, and Dell has included some backup features that make it really easy to re-install Linux if you mess it up while you're first getting used to it. Keep in mind that these machines are slightly cheaper than their Windows counterparts, mostly due to the fact that Ubuntu is free, so the cost of a Windows license is not included in the price. They are capable of running Microsoft Windows (why you would want to I dunno) though you'd need to buy your own copy of it separately.
While pre-installed Linux machines are really nothing new, (www.system76.com) this is the first time that a very large company such as Dell has ventured into this territory. Personally, I think its a strong sign of how much Linux has matured as an operating system.
If you'd like to hear what Dell has to say about their Linux machines, you can browse to www.studiodell.com and click on "Linux 101: What's all the fuss?" for an explanatory video.
If you're not sure you wish to try Linux, keep in mind that many of you already use Linux on a daily basis and don't know it. When you use Google, you're using Linux because Google runs their web servers on Linux. In fact, the majority of web servers use Linux, 58% of them in fact. TiVo runs on Linux. Many popular mobile phones run on Linux, including the Motorola Razr2, with more and more cellphone companies switching to Linux based software for their handsets every year.
So even though you may not be aware, chances are you're already a Linux user. And thats not a bad thing. Not at all.

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#24 Whats a BIOS?

2007-09-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith
Hello and welcome back, this week, I'll be explaining a bit more about what a BIOS is and what it does.

Whats a BIOS?
Simply put, BIOS stands for basic input/output system. The bios is a small bit of software that resides on the BIOS chip. In most systems you can access the BIOS at startup time by pressing Delete, or F2 or F10, depending on the maker of the system. The BIOS has a lot of very important configuration options available that impact the performance of your system. IT IS NOT A PLACE TO PLAY AROUND! Back before I knew anything, I completely killed my very own first computer by playing with options in its BIOS that I did not understand. This led me to having to replace the motherboard and re-do everything from scratch. So don't muck about in there without a little bit of research first. If its not broke, don't fix it!

What a BIOS does:
This is the first thing that starts up when you turn on your machine. This chip has many jobs when it powers on, such as checking to see that you have RAM installed, finding and initializing your video hardware, detecting and mounting your various disk drives and other hardware. After it has successfully found all the hardware, it will start up your operating system.
Once your operating system is running, the BIOS becomes a kind of middle-man between your software and your hardware, making it easier for software developers to address many different models of computer parts.

Updating your BIOS
As time goes by, there may be upgrades for you BIOS that enable new features, or increase compatibility with newer parts. If you've recently added some hardware and are having lots of trouble getting your machine to recognize that it is there, a BIOS upgrade may be in order. Be warned, upgrading a BIOS is potentially a dangerous operation, so if you don't fully understand what you're doing, better call someone who does. And if your machine is running fine as it is, a BIOS upgrade is an unneccessary risk.
There's also some software that will scan your BIOS and let you know if an update exists and what it would do if you applied it. You can find that software here: www.esupport.com/bioswiz/index2.html
Til next time, take care of your machine, and it will be there when you need it.

Questions or comments, write me at
straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#23 Cleaning your heatsink

2007-09-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

Two weeks ago I finished up by saying that I would cover cleaning your heatsink in the following article. Well, the long and short of is is, I forgot, and did CMOS batteries instead. I was planning on writing about the BIOS today, but looking back, I found what I'd said, and I will cover heatsinks today.

What is a heatsink?
If you've ever taken a look inside your machine, you may have noticed something that is reminscent of a radiator. Usually, its square, metal, and is comprised of parallel verical fins. Most often, there is a fan attached to the top of this or the side to force air through the fins, radiating heat away from the processor, and keeping your system nice and cool. Over time, due to the airflow, dust and hair accumulate on the fins, much like the lattice on a window fan. The blockage diminishes the airflow and acts as an insulator, trapping in the heat. If left unchecked, it can get bad enough that your processor will overheat, causing your machine to reset unexpectedly, and eventually can cause your processor to overheat to the point of ruin. If you have pets, or have your machine situated in a location with lots of dust, this is bound to happen eventually.

How to clean it!
If your heatsink is not too bad off, it can be blown out using a can of compressed air. You can find these at department stores, though their locations vary from "hobby" areas, to electronics sections.
If you find that that didn't do a good enough job to suit you, you can take a toothbrush or something similar and clean out between the fins. Note that you will likely have to remove the fan for this.
If even this isn't enough to get it clean, you'll need to remove the heatsink from the processor, and wash it. Make sure to dry it thoroughly. You will also need some thermal grease to put on your processor to facilitate the heat transfer to the heatsink when you replace it on the processor. So make sure to have some handy if you plan to remove your heatsink.
Once your heatsink is clean and everything is put back, your processor will run much cooler, have less mysterious resets, and it will extend the life of your processor indefinately.

straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#22 WHAT'S A CMOS BATTERY?

2007-09-07T18:27:00.000-07:00

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

Every computer (that I've ever seen anyway) has a small battery that is usually located on the motherboard. The purpose of this battery is to keep a small amount of electrical current supplied to the BIOS chip and the system clock. This allows the computer to save your BIOS settings and keep your system clock up to date even though your machine may have been banished to the back of the garage or closet for months on end. Its basically a watch-battery, roughly the size and shape of a nickel, and you can get a replacement pretty easily at Walmart or K-Mart or RadioShack. They usually cost around $5 or less.
They are usually pretty easy to replace, given that they are most often held in by a simple clip, in fact the most difficult part of the process is often just getting to it. Its a good idea to go into your BIOS and write down all of the settings BEFORE it goes bad.
CMOS stands for Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor, and it doesn't really have anything to do with the battery, but with the type of computer chips that the battery is providing power to.

WHEN SHOULD I CHANGE IT?
When your CMOS battery goes dead you'll often experience messages during boot time that your BIOS settings are being "reset to default" and your clock will reset to a few years ago. Clocks on older machines may reset back to 1981! When you begin to experience these signs, its a good indication that you should change your battery.
Default settings often don't take full advantage of your hardware, so if your settings get reset, it could result in a loss of performance.
They usually last for years, so if you have a new computer, you're not likely to have to deal with this for a while. Keep in mind that replacing the battery will also wipe out your settings, so be sure to write down your settings before replacing it.

Thats it for this week, see you next time!

straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#21 Keyboard spill? No problem!

2007-09-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

This week I'd like to share with you a little gem of a tip that I have recently verified to work. I was reading about a month ago about what you should do if you spill a glass of wine (or sodapop) on your laptop. And while I hoped I would never have need to use the information, I did file it away in my noggin in case the need ever arose. Be warned, it may sound a little counter-intuitive, but a good friend of mine spilled a coke in hers and I decided it was a good time to put the trick to the test.
Now mind you, she had taken it to the local telephone company, and paid then $65 for them to clean it out for her. They pretty much wiped off the screen with a moist towellette and gave it back. A while later, with some of the keys not working, and with it overheating and shutting down at unexpected moments, she put it in my care.
This is what I did.
Turn it off, remove the battery. Remove any PCMCIA cards you may have in it, and unhook all cords and cables. Turn it over and remove all screws you see, making sure you know where to put them back. Turn it over and open it up. Remove the keyboard, remove anything that comes off easily, being careful not to tear out any wiring. Look for a small flat battery, about the size of a nickle and remove that. Now here's where it gets scary.
You're going to want to wash it under cool water. No soap. Rinse out all the residue from the spill.
Now hold it up and tilt it to drain out excess water. This next part is important, you're going to want to rinse it again with either distilled water or rubbing alcohol. Tap water won't hurt components, but the residues that stay behind after it evaporates will corrode electronics. Distilled water and rubbing alcohol both evaporate cleanly. So rinse out the tap water using one of those. I personally used the alcohol. Now drain it again, and sit it in such a way that it will get plenty of air circulation. And leave it for a few days. Before re-assembly, visually inspect it and look for any moisture. If you see none, re-assemble the machine and replace the battery and everything else and try to boot up. If it acts strangely, immediately shut down and remove the battery again and let it dry some more.
When all is said and done, it should work like it did before.
I hope you never need to use this trick, but its good to know, just in case.
Of course, if your machine is still under warranty, just send it back and let them deal with it. :-D

straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#20 Reader Response to Open Office

2007-09-07T18:21:00.002-07:00

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

This week I thought I'd let you read a response I received to my article last week on Open Office. John Moss lives in Fredericksburg, VA and receives the paper via mail and is also on my list of people who receive my article in their email. He's written to me numerous times responding to different articles that I've written, and I thought I'd share an excerpt from one of his most recent letters.

He writes:
I am not only surprised but impressed with the Open Office program. Wow!!!! That's saying something since I'm an old guy that has seen a lot of programs come and go over the years and it takes a lot to impress us. Downloaded the Open Office program with the BitTorrent program. Worked with the program for a while this afternoon and later this evening and got a new and finished manuscript almost ready for publication in a matter of hours. This is a new book that I have been pulling my hair out trying to get Microsoft Word to format and number the pages correctly along with the headers. In fact, publication has been put off over and over again while I look for someone who can help me that doesn't cost a fortune. With Open Office the manuscript is almost done and I learned a lot that can be used with the other programs. Looks like the MSWorks is going into the drawer along with the WP X3. Working on a new book now (almost half done) and I'm going to convert it to Open Office tomorrow sometime.

So, you have a convert and this experience makes me take a harder look at getting an operating system that isn't pouring good money after bad into MS's pocket. I have also cancelled upgrading to Vista. I'm going to put the money into a used or new box.

Thanks again for [the] generous wealth of information.

Thanks go out to John for being such an avid reader and for being willing to try something new. Open Office goes a long way to prove the point that just because something is free, does not mean that it is inferior.

If you have any questions or comments about any of my articles, or would like some advice on a computer problem or purchase, feel free to write.

straightshootincomputin@yahoo.com

#19 Open Office

2007-09-07T18:21:00.001-07:00

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

Open Office is the newest and biggest contender to Microsoft Office. It features a full word processor, database, spreadsheet, and presentation software. Oh, and did I mention that it is FREE?
Open Office is open-source. Meaning that anyone can work on it and modify it and adjust it to their liking, so long as they have the skills needed to do so. It supports all the common document formats and is available on Windows, Linux, and Macintosh, so they've got all the bases covered. Chances are, if you're using a computer, you could use Open Office. In fact, your kids may already be using it.
I read recently that a lot of schools may be moving to Open Office for teaching word processing and other such things. Moving to free software in the classroom means more money to go toward important things like more teachers, better books, better food, etc. etc. It also means that the school system won't be pushing software skills on children that engender digital reliance on one corporation's products. Right now, the whole world runs on Microsoft software. But should it?
So you're too frightened by the unknown to try Linux. You're comfortable paying for Norton Antivirus when you could be getting better protection for free. Are you really too scared to try a new word processor? Next time you go to upgrade to the next version of MS Office, take a tip from me and don't. Opt for Open Office instead. They're not paying me to say this. In fact they can't, because no one is paying them. Open source software relies on word of mouth to propagate. You can find Open Office at www.OpenOffice.org
Just keep in mind the next time you're about to shell out $50-$60 for some software that you could probably find something for free that will do the same job, sometimes better, for free. And if you need help finding free software, drop me a line and I'll point you in the right direction.

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#18 Blue Screen of Death

2007-09-07T18:20:00.001-07:00

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

The Blue Screen of Death

If you're a Windows user, more than likely, you've encountered the Blue Screen of Death at some point. Perhaps you were working on something important, perhaps you just weren't holding your mouth right. Then suddenly, the computer beeps at you and the whole screen turns blue with a bunch of white writing that doesn't seem to convey anything useful. Us geeks have been calling it the Blue Screen of Death or BSOD since Window 95. In fact, its been MicroSoft's preferred "uh-oh" screen since Windows 3.1.
Its pop-culture presence has extended to t-shirts, coffee mugs, and the usual sort of collectibles. And I've seen some pictures of it in action in some unexpected places. There was a picture floating around not to far back of one of those huge video screens at Times Square, in New York that had suffered a crash and was displaying the BSOD.
I'm sure the question on everyone's mind, now that I've taken two paragraphs to reminisce about an error message, is what to do about it.
Keep in mind that a BSOD can result from any number of different problems. And most of the information displayed on the screen is not something that the average person can understand.
The first line usually says something like "A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer" The next line is the one you need to pay attention to. It may not make any sense to you, but write it down. Then, when you get your machine booted back up, or can get to another computer, search for that phrase on Google, or one of the other search engines. Often it can lead you to a solution, or at least an understanding of what has gone wrong. Not always, because some of the messages are not specific enough and cover too many possible problems. But sometimes.
In any case, it will be helpful for when you try to seek help from other sources.
That goes for error messages other than the BSOD as well. The more information you can give a repair tech, the less investigative work he'll have to do to find out why your machine is not behaving itself, and that should speed up the repairs. Which in the end, translates to a smaller repair bill. Or at least it should.

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#17 Cut Copy & Paste

2007-09-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

It seems that last weeks article about email attachments helped out more than a few people, so I'm going to get back to basics for a while. If you're moderately computer literate you'll probably not learn much from this article. But if you are one of those people who sometimes mistakes the CD-ROM tray as a cup-holder, then this one is for you. (that means you Alfred)

CUT COPY and PASTE
When using your computer you may find the need to make a duplicate of a file or move a file from one folder to another. Or perhaps you wish to take some text from a webpage and email it to someone. These are instances where CUT COPY and PASTE will come in handy.
In Windows, you can access these functions via your right-click menu. For instance, lets say you wish to copy some text from a web-page. You can hi-lite the desired text by clicking and dragging over it. Then by right-clicking somewhere in the selected text you should see a menu with "Copy" as one of the options. Alternately, you can use the keyboard shortcut of Ctrl+C to whatever is selected.
At this point that text is now residing in what is called the "clipboard." This is a virtual space for files or text that is in transition. Kind of like a holding-area for what you're trying to copy or move. If you select and copy something else before pasting, it will clear the previously copied data and only hold the last thing that was cut or copied.
The next step is to open your email or a text file where you wish to put the copied text. Right-clicking in an open document in an empty area should give you the option to "Paste." Clicking that will deposit the text right there. The keyboard shortcut for Paste is Ctrl+V.
Cutting works in the same way, except that it deletes the original text (only works in documents you can edit, or on writeable disks) and it exists only in the clipboard until you paste it elsewhere. Keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+X.
In linux its even further simplified... at least for copying text. To copy text in Linux, you only have to select the text to be copied and then middle-click (on your wheel) to paste where you want it.
Doing these operations is very easy. And quite handy when it comes to organizing your files. You can cut a file from anywhere and navigate to where you want it and paste it. Remember not tot move Windows system files unless you know what you're doing.

Selecting multiple files using keyboard modifiers.
When selecting files, you can use the keys CTRL and SHIFT on your keyboard to help you select mutliple files. For instance, clicking one file then holding CTRL while you click another will keep both files selected. You can keep adding to the selection until you have everything you want selected, and then CUT or COPY as you need to for all the selected files at once.
If you click one file then hold SHIFT while clicking another file, it will select those two files and every one between them.
Using CTRL and SHIFT in this way works for both Linux and Windows.

Thats about all I have for this week, if you have any questions about this or any article I write, feel free to write to me at the email address below.

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#16 Sending Email Attachments

2007-09-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

Hi and welcome back. It still surprises me whenever I come across someone who doesn't know how to do an email attachment. I often forget that I was new to all of this once, and that I didn't come out of the womb knowing what I know about computers.
Mostly it surprises me because it is just so easy to do. Sending an email attachmnent is one of the oldest and most widely used computing "tricks" in existence.
An attachment, is simply a file that is sent "attached" to an email. Thanks to viruses, they've gotten a bit of a bad name, but so long as you're careful when you open an attachment, and trust who its coming from, they can be very handy.
Using attachments, you can send pictures to your relatives, documents to and from work, or just about anything within the size limits set by your email handler.
Yahoo Mail, which is what I use, allows up to 10 megabytes worth of attachments to an email. And they virus-scan any attachments you may receive before you can accidently download anything malicious. I couldn't tell you the filesize limits of other services, as I've been a pretty faithful Yahoo Mail user for over 10 years.
Using attachments is pretty easy. Next time you wish to send one, just begin composing an email as you normally would. Then look for a button that says something like "Attach Files" (or it may look like a paperclip) and click it. You'll need to browse to and select the file you wish to attach. Then continue with your message and send it. If all went well, your recipient should now have a copy of the file you sent waiting for them in their email. (No, this won't delete your copy of the file.)
Always be careful to virus scan any attachments you receive that end in .zip or .exe because they may possibly be infected with a virus. They won't necessarily be infected, scanning is just a good habit to make. Or you could get an email service that scans them for you. Like I have.
See you next time.

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#15 About ISO's

2007-09-07T18:17:00.001-07:00

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

Last week I was talking about DamnSmallLinux and I promised to give a better explanation on ISOs or disk images, but first, let me tell you how things are going with DSL.
I installed DSL on a very old Fujitsu laptop. Probably about 14 or 15 years old. Maybe more. It has a 133Mhz Pentium 1 processor, only 32MB of RAM, and a tiny lil 1.6GB harddrive. If you've got a newer digital camera, chances are your flash chip for that is bigger than this thing's harddrive. Using and configuring DSL is tough, and not for the faint of heart. Instead of clicking options and adjusting values, you actually just edit text files that contain the configuration information. Its cryptic and weird but very potent. Typos are very potent as well, in a bad way. But after messing with it all week, I was able to get it to hook up to my wireless network, browse the web, read ebooks, and listen to streaming music from Shoutcast (Internet Radio). I was able to change the layout of its menus, and put in a nice looking toolbar, as well as install several useful programs. It now has a pretty useful group of office utilities, such as spreadsheet, word processor, calculator, and an appointment book. Also it can edit photos or create art using the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) which is basically a free alternative to Photshop. Email is handled through web-based email, though it does have a regular email client built in. Add all that to the ebooks and Shoutcast, and its quite a lot of usefulness for such an old machine. All in all, I'm very proud of how it has come along.
DISK IMAGES -There are lots of different file formats for disk images, depending on what program you use to make them. There's .iso, .nrg, .bin and .cue, .mdf and .mds, .ccd and lots more. These are usually made by copying a whole disk into one of these filetypes. Other times, disk images are generated from other programs in order to make bootable cd's. Its a good way to store a cd on your hard drive so that you can make a replacement in case of damage, theft or loss. You can also use utilities such as D-tools, or Alcohol 120% to "mount" these virtual cd's in a virtual cd-drive. This will make your computer think you actually have the disk in a physical drive connected to the machine, and you can interact with it just as you normally would the real version of the disk.
This use of ISOs is great for people who have lots of harddrive space and who hate searching for important disks. I always keep ISO's on my drive of the install disks for all of the different operating systems I use. If I ever need a new Windows or Ubuntu install disk, burning one only takes a few minutes, and there's no worrying about scratches, or other damage, as it is a freshly minted disk.
Getting familiar with ISO's can make your computing life much easier, and its not nearly as hard as it sounds. Chances are, if you use a burning program, it already supports disk images. Just do some poking around and you'll likely find it is pretty easy.
Until next time, burn CD's ... not yourself.

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#14 DamnSmallLinux

2007-09-07T18:16:00.001-07:00

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

Hello and welcome back again! This week I'd like to share with you a recent discovery.
I have good news for those of you who have an old computer in your closet or garage just sitting there gathering dust. That old machine may not be as worthless as you may have thought. This weekend I came across another distribution of Linux that is just perfect for older hardware. Its called DamnSmallLinux. I'm not trying to offend anyone, thats just what it is called. From here on, I'll just call it DSL.
The minimum requirements for running DSL is a 386 processor and 16MB of RAM. The complete installation of the operating system is only 50MB! For reference, many of the applications on your average machine take up more space than the whole operating system of DSL! DSL comes with a word processor, spreadsheet, firefox web browser, some card games, a Tetris clone and a whole lot more! If you've been curious to try Linux, but don't want to risk messing up your main machine, now there's a version of Linux for you to try that you can put on practically any old machine you have laying around.
DSL is also easily expandable via MyDSL extensions which allow you to download optimized applications (provided you have a working net connection) which provide added functionality to your old machine.
Be warned, DSL is not as easy to use or configure as Ubuntu. In fact, I'm still figuring it out myself. I recommend this for hobbyists and PC enthusiasts only. But then again, you can run it completely off of the disk, without modifying any of your existing files, so it doesn't hurt to check it out.
You can find DSL at www.damnsmalllinux.org From there you can download the ISO and burn it to a disk which you can then use to install DSL, or as a Live disk.
For those of you not familiar with the term ISO, it is a disk image file. Basically, it's a whole disk copied into a file, which can be used to recreate the disk. If you're still confused, tune in next week where I'll be covering ISO's and other disk image file types in greater detail.
See you then!
STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#13 Just some numbers

2007-09-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

STRAIGHT SHOOTIN COMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

Todays harddrives just keep getting bigger and bigger. Amazingly, there are actually terabyte drives out on the market these days.
To give you an relative idea of what a terabyte is, a terabyte equals out to about 217 recordable dvd's worth of data, or 1498 recordable CD's, or 728,177 floppy disks. If you consider the average size of an MP3 file to be around 4 megabytes, then a terabyte hard drive will hold 262,144 songs.
More specifically, a terabyte(TB) is about a thousand gigabytes. And a gigabyte (GB) is made up of approximately 1000 megabytes(MB), which is comprised of about 1000 kilobytes(KB), which is about a 1000 bytes(B), which can be broken down to exactly 8 bits(b). The reason I keep saying approximately and about and other vague phrases is that its not exactly a thousand. Its 1024. The reason this is so has to do with binary math and is more than i can really go into in depth in such a short column.
A couple things to note about this is how companies use these different numbers to misrepresent their products and services. If you've ever used a dial-up internet connection, you probably noticed that on a 56k connection, you never actually see your download speed anywhere near 56. The reason for this is that connection speeds are advertised in bits. 56k means fifty-six kilobits-per-second, while on the other hand, Windows measures your internet speeds in kilobytes. 56 kilobits converted into kilobytes (divide by 8) gives you 7 kilobytes per second, which is the fastest you're ever likely to see a dialup connection go.
Common DSL service is offered with 768 kilobit-per-second download and 256 kilobits-per-second upload speeds. Which equals out to 96KB down and 32KB up showing up on your PC.
They sell internet service in bit speeds because it just looks better on paper. Its kind of like saying, I don't have one hundred dollars, I have ten thousand pennies. I think this marketing scheme was created by the same team that came up with ten hot-dogs versus eight buns.
Its also why your brand new 60GB hard drive only shows about 55GB once it is installed. For the purposes of advertisement, harddrive manufacturers do their math in even 1000s, whereas Windows does its math with 1024.
Right now your average store-bought computer comes with 40 to 80GB of space on its hard-drive. Probably more if it was geared toward video editing. This is expected to raise quite a bit in the future, but don't worry, an up to date version of XP can handle drives up to 1.44 petabytes. A petabyte is 1024 terabytes.
To run Windows XP you need at least 128 megabytes of RAM. By comparison, man went to the moon with the help of a computer that only had 32 kilobytes of RAM. So I guess the moral story to be learned there is that its not so much about the power of your machine, as what you do with it.
I realize that all of these numbers may be giving some of you a headache, and for that i apologize. I only hoped to give you a better understanding of the math involved in your computer and how it is used and misused by various companies and organizations.
Hopefully, armed with this information, you will be more informed next time you order internet service or make a hard-drive purchase.
See you next week,

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#12 Restore Disk No-No's

2007-09-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

If you bought your computer new, you invariably recieved either a Windows installation disk, or restore disks from your manufacturer, or possibly both.
A common problem I'm seeing with inexperienced users is that they think that these disks are a fix-all. That if you've got a computer problem, you can use these disks and all of your problems will go away. Which is partly true. Your computer problems WILL go away. But unfortuneately, your personal files will go away as well.
The majority of these disks work by wiping your computer and re-installing everything from scratch, leaving your computer in the same state you bought it in. If you have family pictures, songs from iTunes, or important company info, those restore disks will erase it all away, leaving you with nothing but your (now) perfectly running empty system.
This happened to one of the cellphone retailers in town. I was contacted with a request for advice dealing with a virus related problem. My advice was "Don't do anything to it until I get there."
What I would have done would be to remove the hard drive, place it in a virus-immune linux machine and copy off all of the vital information without fear of contaminating the linux machine. After which, it would have been time to use the restore disks to wipe and re-install Windows, and then use the backups I'd have made to restore the vital info back to the customer.
What actually happened was that the potential customer decided that they could fix it themselves, of course, because they had their trusty-dusty restore disks.
Long story short, they lost all of their company records for that location, several thousand dollars worth of accounts, and had no backups to speak of. Live and learn I guess. Moral to this story is, firstly, always keep backups of your important data, and secondly, know when to call in the pros.
If you had a Porche or a Ferrari you wouldn't go banging about in the engine unless you knew what you were doing. If you've never done more than check your email or use software that you were trained to use at work, don't consider yourself a PC repair man. When your PC full of precious data is on the fritz, it is not the time to be experimental. Either you know exactly what to do, or you don't.
The time to use those disks is when you're reasonably sure there's no data on your computer that you wish to keep. Most times even when it won't boot up and does nothing but sit there and beep at you, your data is still in there and can be recovered by someone who knows what they're doing. Even if your hard drive fails and won't ever work again, there are places you can send it to that will recover the data and return it to you on CD's. Just don't panic. Don't spaz. Don't do anything rash that you'll probably regret later when you realized that those pictures of your loved ones, or worse, account information for the entire eastern seaboard are gone forever.

Until next time, just keep your cool.

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#11 Buying vs. Building a PC

2007-09-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

This week's article is entitled:
BUYING VERSUS BUILDING, in a no-holds-barred, title match. This one's for the belt ladies and gentlemen. First let me make clear that this is for desktop systems only, if you're gifted enough to build your own laptop, you probably know anything and everything I might say in this column
---
In this corner, from Silicon Valley, wearing the Dell, Gateway logos, and the black, blue and white trunks, the reigning champion, Joe "The Big Easy" Buying. Ooh, mixed crowd response there, both cheering and jeering. Seems that customer support publicity isn't working out quite like they wanted it to.
And in this corner, from Hometown USA, a relatively unknown contender, John "Do it Yourself" Building, wearing the all white trunks and the "Pricewatch" and "Newegg" logos. Not much of a crowd response on this one. It seems not many people know what to think about Mr. Building.
And there goes the bell... They're out of their corners ladies and gentlemen... and there goes Buying with a "$100 rebate" to the midsection of John Building. We have our selves a fight. The rookie comes back with a "cheaper upgrade" uppercut to Joe, and follows up with a "better compatibility" right cross. But Joe is not finished by any count, he dishes out "Customer Support", "Limited Warranty", and "Six months same as cash" in rapid succession. The Rookie appears stunned, but undaunted, and returns a flurry of blows, "Parts Manufacturer warrantees", "Designed to your needs", and another "cheaper upgrade" for good measure. Joe Building, staggered by these massive blows, tries a desperate "Windows Pre-installed"
The crowd holds its breath as John "Do It Yourself" Building blocks with "Linux" and begins to beat Joe Buying about the head with "No Viruses" "No spyware" "Free software" and "No DRM" Wow, this rookie is really putting the heat on!
The crowd favorite is nearly asleep on his feet, but puts every last ounce of energy into a quick one-two.... "Building your own PC is too hard!", "we can do it better!" With a look of contempt, and a "Not really", John "Do-it-yourself" Building lays the champ out cold on the mat. The ref is still counting, but this one is over folks.
---
Thats it for this week, any questions, you know where to write.
I think I'm going to go watch Rocky Balboa.

Next week: The disks that came with your computer, and when to use them, and when not to.

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#10 How to Speak Geek

2007-09-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

Straight Shootin Computin
by Jeff Smith

Hello again reader,
Below are common web abbreviations you'll find in emails, chat rooms, and forums and their meanings.

LOL - Laugh Out Loud
LMAO - Laughing My #&% Off
ROFLMAO - Rolling On Floor Laughing My #&% Off
BRB - Be Right Back
G2G - Got to Go
AFK - Away From Keyboard
W/E - Whatever
NP - No Problem
TY - Thank You
YW - Your Welcome
JK or J/K - Just Kidding
BRT - Be Right There
IMHO - In My Honest (or Humble) Opinion
TTUL - Talk To You Later
IDK - I Don't Know
A/S/L (R/P) - Age/Sex/Location(Race/Picture)
OMG - Oh My God (Gosh if you prefer)
OMFG - You can guess what the "F" stands for.
IDK - I Don't Know

If you have teenager who is using the web regularly, you'll want to be familiar with the following abbreviations. Keeping your kids safe online is a tough job, and being successful at it means having an understanding of the lingo they often use.
CD9 - Code 9 means parents are around
P911- Parents Emergency
GNOC - Get Naked on Camera (webcam)
(L)MIRL - (Lets) Meet In Real Life
MorF - Male or Female
MOS - Mom Over Shoulder
NIFOC - Naked In Front Of Computer
NMU - Not Much, You?
PAW - Parents Are Watching
PIR - Parent In Room
POS - Parent Over Shoulder (or Piece Of $%&@)
PRW - Parents Are Watching
S2R - Send to Receive (pictures)
TDTM - Talk Dirty To Me
WTF - What the %$&# ?
As well as these abrreviations, there is also something called Leet speak. Leet is short for "elite" Leet is not another language, its actually English, though it is hard to tell. In Leet, 4's are used for A's, 3's for E's, etc. Below I'll post a short sentence in regular english and again in Leet.
Believe it or not, this is english.
|33L13\/3 17 0r |\|07, 7|-|1$ 1$ 3|\|9L1$|-|.
If you find yourself faced with a lot of leet speak, there's a free translator at http://www.noslang.com/ It also has lots more abbreviations (these are just the most common), and lots of tips for parents dealing with teens online.
Next week we'll be discussing buying a new computer versus building your own.
Until then, keep those kids safe.

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#9 Got enough RAM?

2007-09-07T18:11:00.002-07:00

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

So just how much RAM is enough?
Chances are, if you've never added any RAM to your computer since you bought it, you could definately use some. Most PC manufacturers put what is considered the bare minimum of RAM in the computers they build.
How much RAM you actually need varies from user to user. But first, for those of you scratching your heads, RAM is short for Random Access Memory. If you thought of your computer as a person, RAM would be kind of like short-term memory, or concentration power. The more RAM you have, the better your PC will run, and the better it will be able to handle multiple simultaneous tasks.
Different operating systems require different amounts of RAM just to run. In Win95 days, 128 megabytes of RAM was considered living high on the hog. But now, Windows XP requires 256MB before you can even install it, 512MB is recommended, and if you play a lot of graphically intense games, you'll want a gigabyte or two of the fastest RAM your machine can handle.
You can tell when your machine is hurting for RAM when you experience big slowdowns when using your computer intensely. You'll notice the hard-drive light flickering on and off, and maybe a low sound like your computer is constantly clearing its throat. These symptoms are a result of your computer using your hard-drive as "virtual" RAM. When you're doing more than what your RAM can handle, it will shove off older information to the hard-drive to be picked up later. In Windows, this is called your pagefile, and in Linux it is called your swap partition.
Using virtual memory allows your computer to run programs and tasks that it really doesn't have enough RAM for, but the price for this feature is a slow system and excessive wear and tear on your hard-drive, increasing the likelihood of a crash. Your hard-drive cannot transfer information anywhere near as fast as RAM can, so it essentially becomes a bottleneck for data moving around your computer.
Before going out and buying RAM, make sure you know what kind you need. RAM has changed in speed, capacity, and in physical characteristics through the years. There's are utilities available on the net to help you identify what RAM you need. If you need one of these, drop me a line and I'll direct you to them. And keep in mind that your computer will run at the speed of the slowest RAM installed in it.
Next week I'll be going over common computing abbreviations and anacronyms. By the end of next week's article, you'll be able to speak geek with the best of us.
See you then.
STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#8 The Downside of Linux

2007-09-07T18:11:00.001-07:00

StraightShootinComputin
by Jeff Smith

Hello and welcome back. If you remember last week's article, we were talking about Ubuntu Linux and how switching to it from Windows may just make your computing life much easier. We've discussed how it is pretty much immune to viruses and spyware, and how it can do just about anything that you do with Windows.
Today I'm going to tell you about the downside of Ubuntu Linux, and the problems or differences you may find when first beginning to use it.

Firstly, finding drivers for your hardware is a lot different. For the most part, Ubuntu will detect and install all of your hardware automatically. But sometimes there will be one piece of hardware that just isn't so easy. In this case, you'll have to go into the forums at Ubuntuforums.org and ask for help. The people there are great, and you'll likely find a solution (if there is one) and have your hardware up and running pretty soon. On the other hand, the hardware world bows down to Microsoft. Many hardware manufacturers do not consider Linux to be a big enough market entity to make Linux drivers for their hardware, or release the source-code for the drivers so that the Linux community can make their own.

Lexmark printers, for instance, did not work with Linux for a long time, but recently, support for Lexmark has come to quite an acceptable level. This driver delay is not the fault of Linux, but of Lexmark. In other cases, some very old hardware may have come from manufacturers who are no longer in business, and due to this, Windows drivers may be all that ever exist. In cases like these, your options are only to change hardware or do without it... or stick with Windows.
A good rule of thumb is, if it works on the Ubuntu Live disk, it will work without a problem. If it doesn't then it will take some investigation to find out for sure.

Another difference from Windows is installing applications. You're probably used to downloading an installer, double-clicking on it, and then clicking "Next" a bunch of times, then clicking "Finish." With Ubuntu, installing software can be MUCH easier or MUCH harder depending on the software. Ubuntu has what is called a Package Manager. In the Package Manager, you can search for and install thousands of free programs quickly and easily. Just select everything that you want, be it one program or one hundred, and then click "Apply" It just downloads and installs it all automatically. Easy as pie. Easier, in fact, than on Windows!

On the other hand, installing software that is not contained in the Package Manager repositories can be very intimidating. It involves compiling the code for your specific hardware, and its something I've not completely mastered myself. Luckily, there's almost always help to be had, and if you can cut and paste, you can get through it.

For most users, the repositories will have any kind of software you could ever need, and Ubuntu comes with most the things you're going to need already installed. So chances are you may never have a need to compile anything.

You will, on the other hand, find instances where it is necessary to use the terminal, or command line. Unlike MS DOS, which has pretty much been rendered all but useless in Windows, the terminal in Linux is robust and powerul. It is internet enabled and learning your way around in there is highly recommended.
I've heard it said that it is best to install Linux with the help of a friend who already knows that particular brand of Linux. So if you do decide to give Ubuntu a try, and you run into a snag, you're welcome to drop me a line, and I'll try to steer you in the right direction.

As Linux grows in popularity, and believe me, it is growing fast, hardware makers will begin to support it more and more. So Linux will only get better, while Microsoft will always continue to be... well... Microsoft.
Next week: Do you have enough RAM? How much is enough?
See you then.

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#7 Intro to Ubuntu

2007-09-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

STRAIGHT SHOOTIN COMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

Last time, I began telling you about Linux and the benefits of using it instead of, or in conjunction with Windows. I also told you that there were a great many different distributions of Linux. Today I will talk about my favorite flavor of Linux... Ubuntu.
Ubuntu does just about everything you normally do with Windows. It has a full suite of office software, a powerful graphics editor, media players, web browser, email client, and yes its even got solitaire (with about 50 or 60 other solitaire variations built in) and other games. You can also easily install tons of free software for everything from recording studio software to virtual planetariums.
There are also different versions of it. There's Edubuntu, that is geared toward students and teachers, which has lots of educational software pre-installed. And Xubuntu which runs well on older machines with out-dated hardware.
You can download an install disk from Ubuntu.com for free and follow the instructions on how to burn it, or they'll even mail you up to 10 disks for free if your connection is too slow. So its super easy to get. Its also really easy to install.
They have what is called a Live Disk. If you boot up with this disk in your drive, it will actually load up a temporary copy of Ubuntu for you to try out without ever changing or impacting your Windows files in any way. It comes up to a full desktop, with mouse, icons, even a clock and word processor. If you're on broadband you can even use Firefox to surf the web... and this is just off the install disk.
If you decide you like how it looks and runs (note that it will run much faster after it is installed) you can just doubleclick the icon on the desktop labeled "Install" and begin the install process.
The installer will help you wipe your drive, or divide your drivespace up so that you can keep your Windows installation just as it is. Its pretty good. The only thing that was tricky was setting the timezone.
When it finishes, you can continue using the temporary desktop, or reboot and try see how well it runs after its installed. You'll notice upon rebooting that the installed desktop looks and works just like the temporary desktop. So take your time and play with the temporary desktop before installing it to see if you think you will like it. If it has problems, and you wish to install anyway, or have problems after the install, there is a great online community for free help at UbuntuForums.org.
I recommend that the first time you install it, that you install it onto a non-vital computer, or wait until you main computer needs to be wiped anyway. And its always a good idea to back up any non-replaceable data before installing ANY operating system. That goes for people upgrading to the new Windows Vista too.
Next time I'll be discussing some of the differences between Windows and Ubuntu, so don't rush out and install it right away. If it sounds good to you, download or order an install disk, but be prepared to feel a little lost. Also, keep in mind that while for most computers Ubuntu "just works," it is not compatible with every piece of hardware out there so there may be snags here and there to getting everything set up just right.
As always you can reach me for question or comment at

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM

#6 Intro to Linux

2007-09-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN
by Jeff Smith

Today I'd like to talk to you about Linux. If you're like most people I've talked to, your reaction to that statement was probably, "Um...What's Linux?" A lot of people have never heard of anything other than Windows and Macintosh. If you're one of these people, then listen up. There is a third option.
If you're tired of viruses and spyware, sick of endless security holes, hacker threats, if are ready for something different, then listen up. There is another way.
Linux is an Open-Source operating system. For those of you not hip to the terminology, Open-Source means completely free and anyone can modify the programming code however they like. The source code is available and if you know what you are doing, you can contribute to how the program works, what features are incorporated, and even how it looks, even rename it.
Linux is an alternative to Windows and Mac that is more secure than either of them, runs good on older hardware, and does most of the things that you do on your computer now just as well as the competitors. Its NOT succeptible to viruses or spyware. And its FREE.
So I guess the question on your mind now is "Why haven't I heard about this before?" For one thing, Linux isn't really owned by anyone, so there is no one to pay for advertising, nor money to pay for ads due to its low low price of $0.00. To be truthful, Linux has suffered a reputation for being only for geeks and technical geniuses. Its began in 1991, created by Linus Torvalds, as a PC-compatible version of Unix. It was cryptic, hard to understand, hard to configure, and hard to use. But not anymore.
Linux has blossomed into a wonderfully functional and robust way to use your computer. The hardest part about using it is un-learning all of the habits you've gained from using Windows. Many new users get discouraged by the differences and think that it should be more like Windows, an attitude which tends to upset experienced Linux users. Its not supposed to be like Windows.
If you give it a chance, and don't mind feeling dumb for a little while while you get your bearings, you'll eventually get the hang of it just like you did starting out with Windows. It IS different. Some things are not where you expect them to be. But I personally found it to be worth the effort.
If you've never learned to use a computer, Linux is probably easier to learn than Windows. Things are layed out in ways that make sense... just not to seasoned Windows users.
"But," you ask,"what exactly makes it better, other than the price?" One thing is stabilty. Often when using Windows, after your computer has been on for a while, your computer will start to act up, and you'll need to reboot it in order for it to get its head straight. Linux is so stable, people have had their computers running for over 14 months solid without needing to reboot. It is this reason that most of the websites you visit on the net are hosted on Linux servers.
Another good thing about it is the amount of free software available. In Linux, free is a way of life, a philosophy. You won't recognize most of the names of the software (K3B instead of Nero or XMMS instead of Winamp) but they'll work just as good as what you've come to know. Think of it as like the bagged cereal at the grocery store. It tastes as good as the name brand stuff, but you get twice as much. They can sell off-brand cereal much cheaper because they don't have to advertise. With Linux, its supported by volunteers and enthusiasts. When you have a problem with it, you don't search a knowledge base and read 10 pages looking for your answer, you write your question in a forum, and a volunteer will usually answer you in a little while. Often in just a few minutes. Its a community, and you're invited to become part of it.
And speaking of asking questions about computer problems, I don't print my email address at the bottom of this just to waste ink. If you have a problem or question and need some advice, or just want to tell me what you thought about an article, please email me. I'd love to get some feedback on what you think. I promise you will get a reply, and if it is a common enough problem, I may even print your letter in here. I also do repair work in my free time if its a bigger problem than you can handle, and I don't charge an arm and a leg.
Next week we'll discuss the many different flavors of Linux (there are over 250) as well as my personal favorite, Ubuntu Linux. Until then, surf carefully, its a dangerous web out there... for windows users. :-)
Jeff Smith
STRAIGHTSHOOTINCOMPUTIN@YAHOO.COM