Tuesday, 29. September 2009
I often have trouble thinking of things to write about that will fit in to the “Everyone can benefit from” category. This little blog post is really aimed at IT folks and their families. It is an effort in explaining some of the strange thought processes we as IT people need to use in our jobs, and how they leak into our home and social lives sometimes.
Tuesday, 8. September 2009
A recent blog story from Daily Finance tells of leaked slides from Microsoft’s Expert Zone training class used to train Best Buy employees, contains out and out lies regarding security and compatibility comparisons between Windows 7 and Linux. For many Linux advocates, this is equivalent to a smoking gun in regards to Microsoft’s unethical methods of promoting it’s products. They point to the fact that Microsoft uses it’s technical training and certification programs to spread false information. WELL DUH!
Tuesday, 1. September 2009
This seems to be the cry of the hard core Linux and open source community in regards to the next release of Windows. Currently, most of the Linux camps are gearing up for all out war. Being a Linux and Open Source geek, I understand why we all seem to be bracing ourselves for a battle, but I think we might be going over the edge a bit on this one.
Friday, 28. August 2009
I must admit, this is quite a surprise, even for me. While pricing a PC for a client, I was shocked when I calculated the total cost of the software that they are required to use for their business.
The cost of software is one of those things that most business owners understand, but very few employees grasp. While there are open source alternatives available for these software packages, chances are that the client will elect to purchase this software, but as always, I’ll sure give him the option to try something different.
Monday, 24. August 2009
Over the last few days, news agencies have been reporting that the office of the president used a third party email service to deliver a political email to email accounts that were not subscribed or ever requested government email. This has lead to all sorts of questions regarding if tax payer money was used, or if the White House over stepped it’s bounds by sending what many are calling “SPAM” emails under the presidential umbrella.
This event has brought to the forefront a company that is engaged in managing mass emails for different government agencies called Gov Delivery. Caught in the middle of this whole thing, Gov Delivery is doing it’s best to protect both it’s clients, and it’s own back end. But I think everyone is missing the real story here.
Thursday, 20. August 2009
First off, let me be clear that this was not my idea. I was told about this whole concept by Mike Rubel @ Cal Tech. He’s the rocket scientist behind this whole idea. Now that we have our “Credit Where Credit is Due” portion out of the way, let’s get into the whole rsync backup concept.
Wednesday, 19. August 2009
I have to admit, I’m a bit jaded regarding software and computer support. It drives me crazy when the person I’m dealing with is reading from a script. This is one of the reasons I rarely call or contact support when I have a problem. The web usually does a great job as an information resource. But, sometimes the web doesn’t have the answer, and sometimes you need to look deeper for help.
Most folks in the open source community are used to “leaning” on each other to solve problems. That’s what we do. But all those poor people out there that run commercial software can get close to the same level of help and support from their local user groups and clubs in their community!
Try self support and go to a user’s meeting. Learn how we do it in the Open Source Community, and never sit on hold with a help desk again!
— Stu
Saturday, 15. August 2009
Here are the notes regarding what I covered in my presentation to the Simi Conejo Linux User Group. The actual presentation covered these subjects in more detail then I was able to fit in here, but you should get the general idea of the concepts covered by reading this all the way through. If you would like me to present this presentation for your organization or group, please contact me via email.
Thursday, 13. August 2009
The Free Software foundation has launched a community for teens ages 13 to 18 that are interested in contributing to open source. It’s goal is to give kids interested in open source development, a place to exchange ideas and participate in open source projects. GNU Generation isn’t just for coders. It will encourage kids to contribute art and documentation, and promote advocacy as well.
In a time where Open Source is starting to get a real foot hold on the American computer frontier, it’s good to see organizations reaching out to our youth with constructive ideas.
GNU Generation is holding annual contests and award the participants with free memberships and prizes.
Good going GNU!
— Stu
Tuesday, 11. August 2009
Recently, I was chatting with some ‘Non Geek’ friends about the software they run on their home PCs. I was not surprised to hear that most of them ran a Microsoft OS and almost all Microsoft software. What was a surprise, was how many of them did not purchase the software for their PCs, or did not pay the license fees for every PC that was running the software on.
