Ubuntu

For those of you who aren't sure WTF 'Ubuntu' is, it apparently is Zulu for 'Humanity for others'. But specifically, it is the name of a Linux distribution (that is one of the more popular ones).

I have this reasonably really ancient old laptop (ASUS M2400N) that has been crawling on Windows XP (*gasp* I am starting to sound like a Linux User - joking). The (then) current build of XP on this dinosaur of a laptop was woefully full of spyware viruses due to years of coupon searching and god knows what else (hey it wasn't my laptop). It was also corrupted (BSOD after a few minutes of the aeons it took to boot up). Now I have copies of OS' lying around (even have a copy of XP Pro SP2 that I could have installed in its stead), but I chose to be a bit more adventurous and installed Ubuntu 8.10 32bit (yes yes, old hardware).

Well at least thats what I thought. I booted up the CD and after selecting to install Ubuntu 8.10, I was met with a single blinking cursor on the top left cornet of the screen. Upon further research (aka Google), I found out that I needed to update the BIOS on this dino. And there are only two ways. One is to use a floppy (hah on a laptop = teh funnies) or use a CD (didnt want to waste a CD), or flash it through Windows. So guess what did I do. I reinstalled windows so I could flash the BIOS (lol me being me), and tried everything again. And there we go! Installation started without skipping a beat. Since I didn't really know what I was doing, I let Ubuntu decide for me how to install (and they formatted the puny hard drive).

Now I have to say, I always had this perception of Linux being something not very user friendly (especially a prime Windows user - haha that won't change due to the gaming I do) that basically required a lot of 'effort' to get going. I am however pleased to say that I was completely wrong. Right away from the start, I was completely blown away by how everything was set up. I had sound, nice resolution, and a little window popped up telling my that it detected my home wifi. Laptop battery meter was showing how much juice I still had left. And the speed of it all! Booted up like a champ in record time.

One thing that I think is pretty cool (in a geek like kinda way) is the Synaptic Package Manager. I was quick to learn that this is how most of the stuff is installed on Linux (no real complains). Find something you want, fire up the package manager and go look for it and select it for download (it will prompt for other required components). The benefits that I see from this immediately is that 1) You won't be downloading crap, and 2) it helps update things for you (yay!). Another thing that I really like is that you have a 'virtual' dual screen (workspace) that you can switch back and fourth easily.

So first impressions were real good.

Now to figure out how to get it to do what I wanted to do. First thing that came to mind was how to connect it to my Windows Home Server to access my media. Fortunately, I could already view the computers that were hooked up to the home network. But then after loging into my Windows Home Server, I was met with a blank screen. HMM! Quick google stated that I needed something to read NTFS (the preferred file system on Windows XP/Vista). So I fired up the Package Manager and got myself the NTFS Configuration Tool. Set it up and success! I could now see all my stuff (after mounting the location as well). Next, I needed a music player to play my sonic FLAC goodness. I knew for a fact that my beloved Foobar2000 only worked on Windows (*sob*). A buddy of mine (who is a big UNIX/Linux nut) recommended me BMPx. I really love it! It even has a built in Last.fm scrobbler. Two birds with one stone! So far,I am pretty happy with the sound quality of it (I have one of my AudioTechnica headphones right now connected through the laptop).

Next up was a video player. For that, I use VLC and Mplayer (still trying out both). I can seem to play some stuff but I get stuttering. This is definitely due to the dinosaur wireless 802.11b module that is on this. DEFINITELY on my upgrade list (yay I get to take apart the keyboard on this laptop). Might as well check the processor and see if I should upgrade that as well (and more RAM I guess - only have like 700 odd MB left after shared video allocation). I definitely think that is worth my precious money to upgrade this machine a tad as I will most probably be using it more.

So if you have a spare system/hard drive/partition out there, give Ubuntu a spin. Lemme know if you guys figure out how to do some neeto stuff that newbies could do. I guess I will step into the world of command lines one day. But for now, I need to reteach myself how to get around a new OS (haha screenshots require a utility :o ).

Oh yeah, screen shot time!

That is my current lovely Ubuntu desktop. :)

Western Digital RE3 in RAID 0 via ICHR9 Southbridge

If you've read my previous post, you'll know that my POS mobo's ICH9R southbridge refuses to play nice with SATA II drives in ACHI or RAID.

My younger brother happens to have the same chipset on his mobo (P35 + ICH9R) and guess what? RAID 0 WORKS! God damn ASUS.

Well, I took the chance to capitalize and run some benchmarks (to set as a baseline). I ran HD Tune and IOmeter (as Winbench 99 won't run on x64 environments - all is forgiven since it is almost 10 years old!).

Now I am still playing around with the IOmeter results (difference between a linear single outstanding I/Os vs a heavy load of 256 outstanding I/Os.) but here is the result from HD Tune.

RAID 0 with a 128k stripe size.


Mmm.... Tomorrow I will take it for a spin on the ICH10R southbridge (courtesy of my Dad's P45 mobo) and put that through the wringer.

Also once I figure out the IOmeter results, I will make some purdy graphs (and also it will probably lead to a full fledged article/review on TechARP).

Stay tuned!

PC Building!

I love building PCs. I don't know why. I am a pure bred PC geek. Go figure?

The pinnacle of my friendship/relationship with people is usually marked by a custom PC build (or if its a laptop, me finding an exact one for them). This is very rigorous. Custom tailored to their exact needs / specifications. Cheapest price I could find (and believe me, I am VERY in depth - shrewd shopper here muahaha). On top of that, backed by my top notch build quality.

Why I love building PCs for the closest of people?

I write about computers. I dispense knowledge in various web forums to those willing to listen and learn. I spend my free time reading or tweaking (and drooling over) computer parts. To invest a lot of time researching and hunting for parts is a very intensive process. I like to see them really happy with the end product. "It's exactly as I wanted it" is always my favorite phrase.

I only build for people very close to me. Obviously, I would not simply build any old person a computer. I only extend it to people close. As easy as it may think, a lot goes into spec'ing and building a computer. I have just done a lot of it.

Within a week or so, I will be building my buddy (Abe) a PC. Parts are ordered. It's custom suited to exactly what he wants. Exciting times. :D

However, one thing I never appreciate is someone 'volunteering' me on my behalf. Umm. No. Big no no for me. Very few have done that to me. If I say I'll help, I will. If you say I will, um no. lol.
(I am very non-conforming). But yes, do respect my golden rule if you are ever lucky enough to receive a "Scott Custom". Asking me is fine. Representing me, umm does not fly...

I really should post a top 10 things that piss me off instantly (yes there are stuff that do that to even 'lil' ol' me!). Maybe next post (too sleepy now).