ICOM IC-F3S RADIO
I haven’t posted here in a while. I just found some useful information on a radio that I am researching.
MY ADVENTURE WITH WINDOWS
So, I upgraded the memory in my laptop and decided to try something crazy. I installed Windows 98 on it.
YES, VIRGINIA, THERE WILL BE A FLASH PLAYER 9 FOR LINUX
From Lockergnome and Penguin.SWF.
My question is, will Flash 9 for Linux be available right in time to see Flash 10 for Windows?
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR WINDOWS VISTA
This article details the requirements for the new Windows Vista OS.
GREETINGS FROM THE NEW LAPTOP!
Well, I’ve successfully installed DamnSmallLinux, and I like it. 50 Megs, and I have everything that I want. Right now, I am writing this using Flock, which does not come with D.S.L. It is being processed by my main pc and is being displayed on my laptop though something called X11 Forwarding. I’m just thrilled. This kicks some real butt!
A NEW LINUX
I changes Linux distributions like I change blog templates. I’m always looking for something new. I’m currently trying Zenwalk linux. It is my first Slackware distro. and I am having a lot of fun with it. It is a clean, simple distribution without a lot of bells and whistles. The developers are using the KISS principle which I appreciate. I’ve had to install a few packages that do not come with the distro., but that’s not much of a problem. It’s just a something that you have to deal with. I think I even like this better than Ubuntu, and I would not be afraid of sitting a Linux newbie in front of it, especially if they just want internet, email, and chat. The XFCE interface is one of my favorites. It is simple, sleek, fast, and it will remind you of Windows. It even comes with Java 1.5 preinstalled, so that’s one less worry. There are three software packages that I can not live without, and I’ve had some trouble finding them, but they are here or at LinuxPackages.net. They are amaroK, Lyx, and Scribus. Amarok is my iTunes, Scribus is my Microsoft Publisher/Adobe Illustrator, and Lyx is a program that will make any written piece of tripe look like a professional publisher put it together. It is a godsend for writing college papers. I will eventually go back to Ubuntu, but I want to stay here for a bit. Maybe until the next Ubuntu version comes out. The problem with Slackware packages is something called Dependency hell. This is something that I have seen little of in Ubuntu. Dependancy Hell is not a problem for the novice who is content with a few pieces of software that work well, but for the Linux adventurer, it can drive you insane.
ABOUT THE LINUX COMMUNITY
I’ve always sort of compared the Linux community to the Ham Radio community of a previous generation. I can say this both as a dedicated Linux user and as a ham. The Linux community is as diverse as any. There are going to jerks and snobs. There are going to be people who demand that everyone compiles everything from source or use an archaic distribution, and there are those who are happy just installing everything from a Knoppix CD. The people and the support are there, and since we are living in an online world, it doesn’t really matter a whole lot where the help physically comes from. Quite frankly, I’ve come to embrace the Linux community more than any other online, because there are so many of newbies who want to learn and who want to help each other out. Open Source is a new frontier, and many of us just want to help each other out.
LEARNING
So far, my journey to increase my knowledge of electronics has been going pretty slowly. Thanks to Pete Millett’s Technical Books Online site, I have learn a lot about the basics of electronics, and I am beginning to really see how oscillators work. This is something that isn’t really explained in most resources that are online or otherwise.
PET PEEVE
I have a pretty good vocabulary. I really do. I read a lot and watch movies that tend to be a bit higher on the intellectual scale than Dumb and Dumber (though I do love that movie). I’m also pretty tech savvy. I know how Windows and Linux works, and OSX to a lesser extent. I know how to do a lot of stuff with computers. I’m a geek. I study operating systems and software like a anthropologist studies an amazonian culture. I’m also not afraid to experiment and that leads to more “unofficial” knowledge and that makes me even more technically inclined.