There's a lot of talk about everything from salt shakers shaped like ears of corn to the kind of black water hoses that get used on the road. But I'd like to bring up something else that deserves to share that journey with you: Linux.
Nothing, except perhaps the smile of a pretty lady, is both free and worthwhile except Linux.
Their motivation is key.
At the "other leading brand" in Redmond, Washington, people work 8 hours or so and go home. They get to tell people who they work for. It's a J-O-B. Focus groups try to tell them what customers want, but they can only do so much. Always in a hurry to finish.
Meanwhile, (perhaps at a campground near you!) some guy spent his day making some part of Linux better. He doesn't get paid for it; it's a labor of love. Later, when he goes for a new day-job, he can point to his body of work and show'em what he can do. Being part of OpenSource shows you can be a team player. At 3am these guys will get up and code; they'll be damned if some little snot's gonna break his code and make him look bad! These people 'own' the code.
There's no need for focus groups: we're all users of the project. If you have a pulse, a copy of Linux awaits you. Only one catch: if you improve the code, you need to send that code 'upstream' so everyone can enjoy it. That's it; really.
It's most high-profile use is on the desktop. It's on most of the EEE NetBooks you see anymore. But it's also in hundreds of Sandisk and other MP3 players as well as Garmin "Nuvee" and TomTom "Go". It's really catching on. You've seen Linux before, I promise you. It created all the 'big ship scenes' in Titanic all those years ago.Which reminds me: I really should email Darryl Strauss and see what he's up to.
So why would YOU use it?
- No viruses. All computers have weeknesses. The well-known ones have express lanes. - No $100 to flush-and-fill your machine - No 'unsafe' places on the net. - Download TV shows without fear. - No slowdowns. Get it and use it. - Easier. Get new programs with a point-n-click. - Complete with OpenOffice and Firefox, something like 80,000 programs. - It comes with all drivers, from the factory. No more hunting. - Free tech support. Google for news, IRC chat with people, or ask me. - Runs even on old machines. Some of my machines are NINE years old. - It's FREE and built to stay that way!
Do yourself a favor. Try it. You can get the "Live" CD and test drive it, first. They will even send you disks ready-to-go from the site: http://Ubuntu.com
And no- I don't sell it, and the people who offer it don't sell it, either. We all share it. Strange concept, I know...but you'll get used to it. Imagine a trip/job/outing where your main computer *can't* throw a fit because of a virus...
I've been using it since 1999, and I'm no fan of 'complicated'. Give it a try sometime!
(OH: and if you really must use that other leading brand, it'll run under Linux in VirtualBox!)
gypsy97 said
08:21 PM Sep 19, 2009
Ok, Wheel, maybe you can help me. This summer a co-worker at Lassen Nat'l Park loaded Ubuntu in place of the Vista on my laptop. I can't say I really like it, but I'm getting used to it. However, I can't get into RV-Dreams chat room now. I downloaded and installed Java, the tests show it is properly installed, etc., but I don't get the Java picture or the log in screen. I have spent about 4 hrs this evening trying to make it work but at this point I'm so frustrated I am researching the Mac Book! I think the old Windows XP was probably the most intuitive (to me) easy to use operating system and that is what I have on my desktop.
What am I not doing right with Java? I'm going to be stuck in a motel room for at least 2 wks in Chanute, KS while my 5ver is being repaired, and I don't want to have to bring in the desktop if I can help it, just to get into Chat. Thanks.
gypsy
WheelDweller said
10:53 PM Sep 19, 2009
Interesting; I'm on Ubuntu...as far as I know I'm not using Java for that. As is Java's legacy, there are several version of Java in general use. Sun's the authoritative source; others exist, but it's all I know. Versions are "sun-java-4" and "sun-java-6". The "4" version is the one that gets loaded by default.
This seems to be the latest, greatest page on the subject.
Did you load all the codecs, fonts, and other things that are in the grey-area of legality? (So you can play shows, use fonts, and play various games, etc)? That's in the package ubuntu-restricted-extras. If if doens't look like they're there, go into Applications->Add/Remove and choose "all open source applications".
You can email me if you like; WheelDweller@gmail.com
gypsy97 said
07:07 AM Sep 20, 2009
I tried the Java for linux version, which I had no success at all with, and then downloaded the windows version which I opened with "Wine". It supposedly was a successful download and installation, and I don't get any error messages, I just can't access the chat room. I don't want to play games or watch movies with it - use it just for chat. Thanks.
gypsy
WheelDweller said
10:49 AM Sep 20, 2009
Ya might check with the folks who offer that software. One of the biggest problems with Java is that, despite it's intention to be version-independent as well as machine indepenent, it's not. I have a friend that uses Pogo; they use Sun-Java-2, and she has sun-java-4; you'd think 4 could run 2's code, but no. :(
Have you tried both versions? Running it in WINE's kinda the long way around...
Nothing, except perhaps the smile of a pretty lady, is both free and worthwhile except Linux.
Their motivation is key.
At the "other leading brand" in Redmond, Washington, people work 8 hours or so and go home. They get to tell people who they work for. It's a J-O-B. Focus groups try to tell them what customers want, but they can only do so much. Always in a hurry to finish.
Meanwhile, (perhaps at a campground near you!) some guy spent his day making some part of Linux better. He doesn't get paid for it; it's a labor of love. Later, when he goes for a new day-job, he can point to his body of work and show'em what he can do. Being part of OpenSource shows you can be a team player. At 3am these guys will get up and code; they'll be damned if some little snot's gonna break his code and make him look bad! These people 'own' the code.
There's no need for focus groups: we're all users of the project. If you have a pulse, a copy of Linux awaits you. Only one catch: if you improve the code, you need to send that code 'upstream' so everyone can enjoy it. That's it; really.
It's most high-profile use is on the desktop. It's on most of the EEE NetBooks you see anymore. But it's also in hundreds of Sandisk and other MP3 players as well as Garmin "Nuvee" and TomTom "Go". It's really catching on. You've seen Linux before, I promise you. It created all the 'big ship scenes' in Titanic all those years ago.Which reminds me: I really should email Darryl Strauss and see what he's up to.
So why would YOU use it?
- No viruses. All computers have weeknesses. The well-known ones have express lanes.
- No $100 to flush-and-fill your machine
- No 'unsafe' places on the net.
- Download TV shows without fear.
- No slowdowns. Get it and use it.
- Easier. Get new programs with a point-n-click.
- Complete with OpenOffice and Firefox, something like 80,000 programs.
- It comes with all drivers, from the factory. No more hunting.
- Free tech support. Google for news, IRC chat with people, or ask me.
- Runs even on old machines. Some of my machines are NINE years old.
- It's FREE and built to stay that way!
Do yourself a favor. Try it. You can get the "Live" CD and test drive it, first. They will even send you disks ready-to-go from the site:
http://Ubuntu.com
And no- I don't sell it, and the people who offer it don't sell it, either. We all share it. Strange concept, I know...but you'll get used to it. Imagine a trip/job/outing where your main computer *can't* throw a fit because of a virus...
I've been using it since 1999, and I'm no fan of 'complicated'. Give it a try sometime!
(OH: and if you really must use that other leading brand, it'll run under Linux in VirtualBox!)
What am I not doing right with Java? I'm going to be stuck in a motel room for at least 2 wks in Chanute, KS while my 5ver is being repaired, and I don't want to have to bring in the desktop if I can help it, just to get into Chat. Thanks.
gypsy
This seems to be the latest, greatest page on the subject.
Did you load all the codecs, fonts, and other things that are in the grey-area of legality? (So you can play shows, use fonts, and play various games, etc)? That's in the package ubuntu-restricted-extras. If if doens't look like they're there, go into Applications->Add/Remove and choose "all open source applications".
You can email me if you like; WheelDweller@gmail.com
gypsy
Have you tried both versions? Running it in WINE's kinda the long way around...