4/11/08 Update: Added testing system specs. (incomplete at this time), updated Ubuntu - Pros and Cons, added and update to Gentoo and opened the Gentoo section.
4/10/08 Update: Added pages for Ubuntu.  Check behind the cut for links.

Well, not really...just not bothering to update in a really long time.  I need to come back to finish what I've started here, but really don't feel like dedicating the time to the Linux posts.

Anyway, status update:  I'm unemployed yet again, but hoping for something real soon.  Relationship trouble, though not going into details on that now.  Big project at school is causing the usual level of obsession when it's something I like doing (i.e. way too much), and after 4 of the 11 weeks I have on it I could probably be done but want to go FAR beyond the requirements and am doing so.  Have been playing as much WoW as I can, which amounts to far less than I'd like, but that's life for you.

Oh, and a 2 week contract position paying a paltry 18/hour is having me drive 1.5 hours each way.  I'd be excited if the pay were more or the job were closer.

Anyway, that's the 10 second update...will try to update again BEFORE the world ends in 2012 ;) 

I know it has been a while, but if anyone out there still calls me a friend, here is a little something for you! I hope you like it! (note, the bastard R. K. Milholland of Something Positive "fame" (infamy) is actually responsible for this work of rubbish, so you will have to hold him liable for any psychological damage done)



Am I back? I don't know...I am playing around with HTML code now, and VERY unemployed (though this may be changing soon, we'll see), as well as working with the unbelievable talent of one Drake Steele to put together a webcomic in the future. Maybe. He is doing the sketching, I am doing ink and color (using the Gimp), and we are both doing story-line, though nothing has been actually done at this point. I will TRY to actually post updates on this as we continue in the process.

I will also TRY to finish, or at least resume, my work on my Linux tryouts. I DO feel a lot more confident in myself at this point in regards to myself, having set up a dedicated Debian VM server for Apache while I'm playing with learning HTML/XHTML. (also, I feel the odd egotistical impulse to point out that I actually wrote this entire post using HTML...not like it is anything worth writing home or anything, but you know...)

Maybe I will even consider writing some quick reference definitions of the things I'm talking about, but I feel sort of like Google is the best resource of this sort of information on the planet. Until I actually bother describing terms, if there are ones you are unfamiliar with, don't feel badly about using it...after all, that's how I learned a great deal of what I know today.

Looks like the latest version of Ubuntu has released on time, and this one is an LTS version (Long Time Support), which gets support for 3 years on the desktop and 5 on the server.  I'm currently downloading the disks to mess around with them a bit here on my work PC (both desktop and server, just to see what differences other than lack of GUI the server has), and will test the upgrade on my laptop probably in the next several days, maybe next week.

I've swapped my Linux drive back out of my laptop for my Windows drive if for no other reason than that I want to play some more WoW than I have been, and I can't get WoW to work on Linux yet.  Will not give up, but will take a break from trying to.

On the other hand, I'm working on a method to get my Windows partition onto my Linux drive so I don't have to swap them to use Windows, just reboot.  Not that a drive swap is hard, but this way I don't have to carry around an extra hard drive everywhere with me.

I know I'm behind on Linux testing, and for anyone interested in what I have, I'm sorry for the wait.  I will try to get more up soon.  If nothing else, I will try to get some pretty screen shots up!

Also:  NoDoz is legal crack.  I need to stop taking them today, or I will start shaking apart.

I love the irony that I'm sitting here taking notes in my class for Microsoft Windows Server 2003: Active Directory on my Linux laptop.

Okay, I've put some of the work that I've done on Gentoo into an update and it is now available in OS Tryouts.  I currently only have part of my work on desktop #2 (Nomad) posted/

I swear, I have too much fun torturing myself with this stuff.

The next update will probably unlock PCLinuxOS and flush out some of the details for my work with Gentoo on my laptop.  I would like to at least get the laptop working first though (it doesn't boot, in spite of all my efforts, into the Gentoo install).

There are no screen shots in the gallery yet, but I will try to get some up over the weekend.

Whew! Just finished up a ton of work getting the Ubuntu side of this thing done, and it is now available, as all will be when they are finished (or at least ready for public scrutiny), on the OS Tryouts post. I used a time/date trick to keep them from appearing on the front page (everything is posted with the right month, day and time, but the year is set to 1988).

You may notice that there are several posts scattered around in there to browse through...some show they are under construction, or just not ready yet, but I will be adding something to those areas soon. I've set up links on each post to make it easy to navigate. I've also re-vamped the galleries to make them easier to navigate, even though there is hardly anything there yet.

I will post additional updates as I add more details to flush it out a bit. I'm also currently working on the same thing for PCLinuxOS, Gentoo, and even Sabayon (although the last is only being run as a virtual machine right now, so all I'm going to comment on is the installer, art and types of packages it installs more than anything...when I install it on my laptop or desktop later, I will give it a better going-over).

I hope someone finds my opinions and trials at least amusing/entertaining, maybe even useful.  Anyway, until next time...

Okay, so I've gone a bit off the deep end on this geeky "stuff", and now have Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS and Gentoo (still non-functional) installed on my laptop. I'm on the verge of writing off Gentoo, but not ready to just yet.


Now, to add to the insanity, I have decided to start playing around with FreeBSD on a virtual machine.
Anyway, OSes I'm considering adding to my list of "to trys":
Sabayon
gOS
Arch

Ones I'm moving from "possibles" to the "to try" category:
Linux Mint
simplyMEPIS

I will post a better way of tracking this soon, and will probably start going a little more crazy with screen shots.

I saw this on g-mail today:



Hmm...isn't this technically email fraud?

For anyone who just might be curious, here is what my desktop looks like on my laptop:


The image is cut from the original 1024x768 (the laptop LCD is limited to that, which sucks) to 800x600 so it is easier to see.

This is XFCE on Ubuntu.