Things have changed a great deal since 1982. These days, having a computer is almost synonymous with having access to the internet. In truth, a computer that cannot access the internet today is almost quaint. Sure the average Linux distribution comes with enough software to run an entire office out of the box, but if you can’t communicate with your customers via email, fill in forms at online websites, or look up information on the web you’re SOL.
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ThinkPad R32 2658-N3U
Original description: P4-M 2GHz, 256MB RAM, 30GB HDD, 14.1 XGA(1024×768) TFT LCD, 8x-3.3x DVD-ROM, Modem(CDC), Ethernet(LOM), Li-Ion battery, WinXP Pro, Wireless upgradeable
I like to try out laptops once in a while and put Linux on them to see if how easy it would be to do everything I need to do without paying a Microsoft of Apple tax. Since I “switched” to a Mac (from Linux) in 2002, I still use Linux at work, and have a family PC set up with Linux and I’ve been thinking it might be time to switch back. I’m not a big fan of Apple’s move to Intel, and while Macs are really slick, setting up house in Linux is a lot more fun. This is not a comprehensive report, but just my personal notes as I attempt to use the machine.
I’ve lost count of the number of times parents have asked me how to block internet use on their home PCs. Usually it’s because their kids have been caught visiting sites they shouldn’t have been allowed to go to and the completely clueless parents had no idea what their kids were doing until it was too late. Why anyone would allow their kids totally unsupervised acess on an internet connected machine is beyond me, but it happens. I hear some of you yelling, “Get to point Nate, what did you tell all those people who asked?!”
I spent too much time banging my head against Ubuntu’s vncserver so I could log into a remote desktop (just like Remote Desktop on Windows with Terminal Services), until I realized that I didn’t need to load the whole stinking desktop! That would mean sending the entire screen over anyway which is probably not as fast as just sending the program I need. Since OS X has it’s own X-Windows server, all I had to do was ssh into the Ubuntu box a little differently to “tunnel X”, and then launch the program on Ubuntu I want to run which then appears on my Mac’s desktop. Since I am really lazy, I just ran the entire gnome-panel.
ssh -X -c blowfish my_login@my_ubuntu_box gnome-panel
The kids inherited the old Dell Pentium III when the hard drive started acting strangely and the wife needed something she could depend on. The Dell originally came with Windows ME, and there was no way *that* was going to fly for the kids - how could I in good conscience, put that POS on a machine that kids will be fumbling with? Even if we somehow avoid the zillion virii targeted at insecure operating systems like ME, they will most certainly break something since as a normal user they have rights to delete even critical components of the OS. Legal options for a more up to date Windows are non-existent: even if I shelled out hard cash for a more up-to-date Windows, there is no modern Windows that will run decently on this (relatively ancient) hard-ware. There is only one serious answer: ubuntu Linux!
