skippy dot net

skippy dot net skippy dot net ubuntu 7.10 on acer aspire 3680 november 12, 2007 4:01pm 2 comments after giving up on the notion of the eee pc for the twins, i purchased a pair of acer aspire 3680 laptops for them. a quick search revealed that these were fairly well supported, with a couple of odd quirks, so i felt reasonably comfortable making the purchase. i confirmed last night that they would run ubuntu by taking a live cd into the store with me, just to make sure. from the store, these laptops came with some version of windows vista (i didn't even inspect the stickers to see which flavor of windows vista, specifically). when i told the sales clerk that i wanted to buy a pair of them, he immediately suggested a ram upgrade. i said "thanks, but no thanks, i'll be running linux on these." the clerk must not have heard me, because he said "huh?" i calmly explained "i'll be running ubuntu gnu/linux on these laptops, so 512mb ram is more than sufficient for right now." (carina claims i was being harsh in my tone of voice, but i think she's making that up.) once i had said this, the clerk walked off to get the laptops for me, and didn't offer a single other upgrade or add-on, which i found rather telling: these guys live for the extra commission earned by add-on sales. as mentioned on this post about linux on the aspire 3680, the default audio device is seen as surround, which means you need to make a few adjustments in order to get sound working correctly: right-click the speaker icon click "open volume control" click the "edit" menu select "preferences" enable surround from the list of tracks to make visible click "close" close volume control right-click the speaker icon again click "preferences" select surround as the track to control click "close" acer must have refreshed the hardware in these laptops for the specific sub-model of 3680 i purchased, because everywhere i've seen online so far suggests that these laptops come with atheros wireless cards, whereas ours claim to use broadcom bcm94311mcg mini-pci cards. if you enable the ubuntu universe repository, you can use the restricted drivers with the bcm43xx-fwcutter package to have fully-functional wireless networking. click the system menu at the top click administration select "synaptic package manager" click the "settings" menu click "repositories" select "community-maintained open source sofware (universe)" click "close" click the "reload" button at the top-left of the synaptic screen close synaptic click the system menu at the top again click administration click "restricted drivers manager click to enable "firmware for broadcom 43xx chipset family" agree to all the prompts when prompted for the firmware location, select "internet" to have the firmware automatically downloaded i must admit that i share theodore ts'o's enthusiasm for when things just work: once the broadcom driver was activated, wireless networking worked straight away. to make things even better, i was able to install the adobe flash plugin and the sun java plugin all through the browser, without ever using a command-line. i wouldn't have minded had i been required to drop to a shell -- after all, i'm setting these laptops up so that the kids won't have to -- but i was extremely pleased that i was able to do it all in the way in which you would expect plugins to be installed: through the browser! my initial reaction is that this is a decent little low-cost laptop. i don't expect we'll get superb battery life, and i know it's not a workhorse machine; but for the way the kids will use it (playing club penguin and runescape, watching youtube videos, email, and school work) it looks to be a fine choice. i can't wait for the kids to come home from school so that i can see their reaction! eee november 9, 2007 9:51pm 3 comments i read with interest ben armstrong's post about his asus eee pc 4g. i've long been casually interested in ultra-portable computing devices, and this thing looks like a real winner. solid state storage means fast boot times and no worry about failed mechanical parts. the specs look decent for the price, and i'm sorely tempted to buy one for myself. amazon sells the eee for $399. we've decided to get the twins laptops for christmas this year, and i immediately thought of them as i reviewed the eee specs. small, sturdy, low-power consumption, and it runs a free-as-in-speech operating system! i think the kids could easily enjoy using something like this, as it should support all of their major activities: word processing for school, email and web, youtube (and presumably club penguin), and i could install a jvm so that they could play runescape. i'd feel a lot more comfortable with them using something rugged like this as opposed to a traditional laptop with a hard drive that is susceptible to the not-always delicate handlings of a 10 year old. i also thought, briefly, about the one laptop per child xo laptop for the kids. in november the project is running a give 1 get 1 campaign, whereby you buy two laptops: one for yourself and one for donation to a kid in africa. i think the xo laptop would be a lot of fun to use personally, but i think it's a little too do-it-yourself for my kids at this time: they've grown up using computers, and have certain expectations about what they can do with them. it's not clear to me that the xo would satisfy their youtube and runescape requirements. finally, for $100 more, i can get a name-brand traditional laptop. best buy currently has a compaq for $499, complete with 1gb ram and 120gb hard drive. it comes with microsoft vista, but that should be easily remedied (although i'd try to boot an ubuntu livecd at the store to confirm hardware compatibility before purchasing). a traditional laptop computer would probably be the best choice for the kids, as much as i'd love to see them use something more unique. after all, 7" is quite small and probably not the best long-term choice for a general-purpose computing device. klaatu barada nikto november 9, 2007 7:30am 2 comments last night i finally watched the day the earth stood still. i can't believe i waited so long to watch it -- it was a fantastic movie! reading the wikipedia entry, i'm a little disappointed to see that a remake is being made. tyler watched the film with me, and was entirely engrossed by the story. i figure if tyler can enjoy a black and white film made in 1951, it's good enough that a remake isn't necessary. i'm glad to finally be able to have context for many of the popular culture references this movie has inspired; but more than anything i'm simply astounded by what a good movie it was. this reminds me of why i don't often take the kids to the movies any more: i'm disappointed that there are so few family-friendly movies being produced today of the caliber of this 50 year old masterpiece. a quick look at the g and pg films (presumably "family friendly") playing in theaters today shows mostly light-hearted, if not downright silly, fare with many following the formula "stereotypical outsider gets a big break and earns the friendship of the popular crowd". i've observed before that they just don't make movies like they used to, and i hold by that claim. we've watched films such as the maltese falcon, man of lamancha and lawrence of arabia with the twins, and our girls really enjoy watching the classics. the stories are rich, the characters are nuanced, and the entertainment we receive is more than just mindless escapism or laughing at someone else's misfortune. it never ceases to amaze me that the kids will ask questions about these old movies long after we've watched them -- i'm delighted that these films have caught their interest and that they continue to think about them. i wish more writers and directors would produce intelligent, thought-provoking films suitable for an entire family. new music november 8, 2007 8:32am 5 comments at last night's they might be giants concert, carina observed that we've been introduced to a lot of great music through the various acts that have opened for tmbg over the years: mucky ferguson, ok go, and last night oppenheimer. oppenheimer is a duo out of belfast, ireland, with a terrific sound and great attitude. i chatted with the fellows briefly after the show, and they were extremely engaging and down-to-earth. carina bought their cd, and i'm looking forward to listening to it. and speaking of listening to music, i heartily recommend last.fm. i've been using it to listen to pat radio, a columbus internet radio station that plays an amazing assortment of great music. it's extremely rewarding to be able to send an email to pat, the operator, to request a song only to hear it played within moments! i haven't tried out the social aspects of last.fm yet (remember: i'm a late adopter of internet services, and not particularly keen on social network services), but i've been contemplating using it to discover other music i might enjoy, as well as to influence the music other folks discover. common defence november 7, 2007 11:42am 3 comments in his post american priorities, john goerzen compares the number of deaths that resulted from the terrorist attacks of 2001 to the number of deaths from a variety of other factors in years past. he further compares defense spending in 2007 to the budgets of those areas likely to reduce the amount of deaths from the non-terrorist causes previously listed. the introductory paragraph to the constitution of the united states reads we the people of the united states, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the united states of america. granted, insuring domestic tranquility and providing for the common defence are high on the pecking order in that list, but "promote the general welfare" isn't far behind. i don't think that providing defense should come at the expense of the general welfare. indeed, i think a strong argument could be made that providing "for the common defence" could include considerably more than just military security. i'm also left wondering why so many people are so opposed to the notion of government-funded health care. sure, the word socialism is a big scary word with lots of negative connotations, but in what way is public health care actually a bad thing, especially when the constitution of the united states specifically calls for the promotion of the general welfare? should not the resources of the government (ie: our tax dollars) be spent on things that make us all healthier, not just safer from terrorists? a fellow i eat lunch with quipped "you want your health care managed by the same folks that run the bmv?!" a funny joke, but inherently flawed as it is an ad hominem attack: there is no a priori evidence that state-run health care would be like the bmv. the strongest argument i've heard against single-payor prescription medication (the closest we're likely to get to public health care any time soon) is that for price negotiations to succeed, the negotiating party needs to be willing and able to walk away from the table -- to reject the offering, and to seek out other options. the government is not in a position to walk away from the table when vying for lower prices on prescription medications, so pursuing a single-payor environment is a bad idea. but that's assuming that the government would be participating in the free market of prescription drugs along with any other purchaser, which might not be the case if it were indeed truly government-run. i don't have any answers, unfortunately. i'm not an economist, so i'm poorly equipped to engage in meaningful debate about the sociopolitical ramifications of public health care. but to my layman's eyes, it seems that over elected leaders are doing a fairly poor job promoting for the general welfare. page: [1]2…95 about contact cc licensed habari powered tags used: linux ubuntu laptop olpc xo eee robots movies skippy.net

Acceuil

suivante

skippy dot net  Les Freres Scott One Tree Hill Media Photos TF1 Plug TV The WB - Home  Acheter Autoradio SCOTT DRXi800T, prix  Ridley Scott, Acteur  Official site of Darrell Scott lyrics, tickets, bio, pictures ...  Scott McNealy - Bio  SCOTT MICRO-CHAÎNE DVD/MPEG4 USB MDX 35 acheter comparer prix ...  Dr. Scott Fairgrieve p...  Sport24 - Tennis : Scott : «On n'a rien reçu»  Sport24 - Golf : Scott Strange en tête  - Air Liquide: acquisition de Scott Specialty Gases aux USA ...  S. S. Trudeau  Oeuvres de Walter Scott - Résultats Google Recherche de Livres  Scott Vaughan  Gimp-fr documents effet Ron Scott  Jill Scott : plus qu’une artiste, une voix d’or  Les Frères Scott saison 1 en DVD  Scott RDX25S - Minis chaînes (Chaîne Hi-Fi) - Chaînes Hi-Fi Neuves ...  Scott : Tout sur Scott - Moto & Scooter - Caradisiac Moto  Les Frères Scott - Le Blog - AlloCiné Blogs  Les Frères Scott - Le Blog - AlloCiné Blogs  Vidéo "Les frères Scott 4x21 FR 2/3" de oth5910 (Séries > Séries ...  Vidéo "Les frères Scott 4x21 FR 1/3" de oth5910 (Séries > Séries ...  TRUE ROMANCE de Tony Scott / 1993  Scott Caan Ados.fr  Tony Scott Ados.fr  Les Frères Scott : la saison 4 arrive ! - Votes - MSN Télévision ...  Ridley Scott - Achat et Vente DVD Ridley Scott neufs et d'occasion ...  Les frères Scott - FORUM Ados-Television  Photoshop Insider  DVD Portables Scott : avis de consommateurs, comparateur de prix ...  LES FRERES SCOTT (saison 4 DVD 6/6), le film en DVD  Scott micro-chaine dvd/mpeg4 usb mdx 35 grossiste importateur ...  The Story of Feedster  Scott Bakula Ados.fr  Frères Scott (Les) - photos  Venise 2007 : Ridley Scott présente "Blade Runner : Final cut ...  K. Scott Allen  Scott Bellware [MVP]  Blankbaby: The digital home of Scott McNulty  Scott Mitchell  Air Liquide : a conclu l'acquisition de Scott Specialty Gases ...  Piratage : Ridley Scott critique la technologie - PC INpact  Scott DX575 VCS - Comparez les prix - PC INpact  Scott Buffett Personnel ITI-CNRC  William Scott Personnel ITI-CNRC  Ridley Scott - Fluctuat.net  Tony Scott - Fluctuat.net  Montgomery Scott - Memory Alpha  Les Îles Scott - Profil des îles Scott  Welcome  musique-chroniques.ch > Scott-Heron, Gil  Le blog de scott.mckay Parti vert du Québec  YouTube - Gil Scott-Heron -The Bottle  Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Store - UNESCO World Heritage Centre  Jill Scott Accueil Artiste sur Yahoo! Music  Dangerously Irrelevant  Scott Instruments - gas detection for airborne hazards  Ridley Scott, les films de Ridley Scott  Francis Scott Fitzgerald - Fluctuat.net  Visual Studio Talk Show:0054:Scott Bellware:Ruby on Rails et l ...