Wednesday, November 29, 2006

New Users and Linux

Below is a copy of a mail I sent to the Ubuntu team today, following some discussion last night with some prospective new Linux users who were having problems.

I am currently attending an evening course relating to computing and have had
the opportunity to discuss Linux with a few of my fellow students.
Last night, two of them both commented to me on the same subject - connection
to the web in Ubuntu.
It seems both have a USB Thomson (Alcatel) Speedtouch 330 ADSL modem -
commonly issued out in the UK by ISPs - which of course come with a nice
Windows driver CD.
Although I have set up the Speedtouch in the past under Yoper Linux and
Mandriva, I decided to see for myself how things looked in Ubuntu for the new
user.
Note: I am a fairly long time Linux user, so I have tried to look at this from
the perspective of a totally new user attempting to set up a connection,
based on the comments I received last night.

So, upon plugging in the Speedtouch, nothing much happens. Something occurs
because the HD activity light comes on for a few seconds - but no wizard or
other clue on the screen as to what is happening.

Now, the more experienced user - perhaps one who has not experimented with a
Speedtouch before- would perhaps turn to the command line and see what clues
dmesg or lsusb give - and indeed they would probably discover that the
speedtouch firmware is not present!
dmesg output -
[17184911.764000] usb 1-2: new full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and
address 2
[17184912.800000] usb 1-2: reset full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and
address 2
[17184913.012000] usbcore: registered new driver speedtch
[17184913.132000] speedtch 1-2:1.0: no stage 1 firmware found!

But the dmesg command is not something a new user would know nor should be
expected to know!

Anyway, the new user is still faced with no sign of life from their modem. So
I guess they would look at System Settings if using Kubuntu (as I am on this
test). Under the network settings there is nothing to indicate the existence
of the Speedtouch modem.
If this is a second machine, or a dual boot (or maybe a live CD test), they
may decide to boot into Windows to check out the wiki and discover -
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UKSpeedtouchDSLHowTo
or
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsbAdslModem/SpeedTouch

which would point them in the right direction. However, the setting up of the
Speedtouch (or indeed many other connection devices - winmodems etc) is very
intimidating for the new user. No matter how well written (and believe me, it
is hard to write these kind of things - I have done it for the Yoper Linux
distro myself) - such things as downloading and unpacking firmware, editing
files called pap-secrets etc is not what a new user wants to do!

So the new user may end up deciding that Linux is not ready for the desktop
and resign themselves to Windows useage once again. Surely this is not what
the majority of us want?

Whilst I can appreciate that many of these "drivers" - the firmware etc for
these modems - is proprietary, it must be possible to speak to
Alcatel/Thomson about possibly including the firmware in later editions of
the Ubuntu family? I believe they do release the firmware and unofficially
sanction its use. Things have improved a lot on the winmodem front over the
last couple of years - I can remember the misery of getting those to work in
older distros, but they are now tending to be superceded by ADSL for many
users and here in the UK, the Speedtouch 330 and the BT Voyager are - I
presume - still the two modems of choice for ISPs to issue freely to their
customers.
I would be interested in any comments or views on this from the Ubuntu team. I
am happy to test/work with any moves to get the Speedtouch working in a "plug
and play" type manner for those users and have a Speedtouch available to test
if needed.


This is, I feel one of the major gripes for new users in Linux - the fact that many things simply do not "just work" . The fault lies of course with the hardware manufacturers, rather than the Linux distros - the drivers etc tend to be available only for Windows (and to a lesser degree, the Mac platforms). Yes, most of this hardware - including the Speedtouch mentioned above - can be made to work, but it does involve a lot of fiddling which may be difficult for the first time user of a non Windows platform.
Sadly, there are a small but very vocal number of Linux users who do not care. In recent weeks, I have been involved in discussions with some of the "zealots" of the community - the people who decry any "proprietary" software inclusion in Linux distros - e.g things like drivers for modems or graphics cards which are released as "closed source" binary packages by the hardware companies. Whilst in an ideal world we would all like to see totally free and open source software, this is simply not going to happen overnight. My view is that a proprietary driver for my graphics card, released free of charge by the manufacturer, is better than using the non-3d accelerated "totally free " version which these zealots would prefer me to use. Sorry - but if I wish to game for example, I need 3d acceleration!
During the discussion, I pointed out to one of these people that Linux would not become popular without these so called binary blobs (the proprietary software) and was told, and I quote -

"The purpose of the system is to be free software, the purpose of the
system is not to be popular."



That comment is one of several similar ones made during a discussion which went on for a few days on a mailing list.
I was surprised by it I must admit - but it shows that there are a number of people out there who would rather see Linux relegated to a tiny niche market than expand.
Ah well - I guess thats one of the joys of the Linux community - we can all have our views and I respect that, even if I disagree with that particular viewpoint myself.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

...hello again!

Worry not - the title is a family "in-joke" ;)
Lately, I have been experimenting a lot with virtual machines.
What are they?
Well, essentially, they are software programs which allow you to run one operating system inside another. So, if you have Windows (why??), you can install the program which will set up a virtual PC for you. That creates a virtual hard drive and all the other things you need to make a PC. Then, inside your new virtual PC, you can install an operating system and use it as though it was running on a real computer. It helps if you have a fairly modern PC and generous memory, because the virtual PC will share your processor and ram.

Not being a Windows person, I am currently running several virtual PCs which are running Linux distros. As I may have mentioned before, I am running Kubuntu on my laptop. It is the current 6.06 version. However, there is a test version available of the next release. So, I downloaded the .iso image and created a virtual PC for it. Conveniently, you can use the .iso image as if it was a real CD, so it saves time having to burn it to a disk. Anyway, I installed the Kubuntu testing version of 6.10 Beta. I can then run both 6.06 and 6.10 at the same time and switch between them as I wish - unlike a dual boot type setup, where I would need to restart each time.
I will probably have more to say on 6.10 in a later blog, but for now, I will say that it seems to be quite similar to 6.06 - in that it is stable and works fine.
So I suggest virtual PCs are a useful way to experiment with other operating systems. Windows users can run Linux in a virtual machine to see what they think - and of course they can run both Windows and Linux at the same time, rather than messing with dual booting!
There are a lot of things I could comment on regarding virtual machines, but I would suggest a Google around at a couple of them and see which would be most useful to you. I have used Bochs, Qemu and VMWare Server. All these are available free of charge from the relevant websites. I understand that Microsoft also have a virtual machine, but of course I have not been able to test that out.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Phew....

Phew... its hot - but also, phew... the Windows repair was acceptable for my daughter! Having said that, she was actually *choosing* to boot into Linux for preference a day or so ago!
I think dual booting is good for her - it allows a gradual integration into the way Linux works. Dual boots do have their own disadvantages - when I first tried dual booting, I tended to boot into Windows 98 because it was familiar. I had seen/used Linux before that, but more as a novelty than as a real alternative.
Tends to be the other way round now - I rarely see a Windows screen and frankly, its a relief!

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Damn Windows.... 2

Well, finally got around to sorting the machine out. Not too much of a problem, but time consuming. Still, at least no data was lost - apart from the graphics driver and a couple of lesser driver problems. The annoying thing was that most of the drivers *were* there - just that Windows couldn't see them. A quick point in the correct direction and hey! Windows can find them again! I guess thats the pleasure of the Windows Registry - if it isn't listed in there, it cannot exist! Totally bizarre. And people ask why I use Linux!

Nasa TV is proving interesting again with the latest shuttle mission being streamed live. Sadly the two options to view it are Microsoft media or Real Player. Flip a coin to decide which is the least evil ;) To be fair to Real Player - their stream is miles better here than the MS one - Microsofts offering is really blocky and poor quality; Real is quite acceptable. My poor DSL speed makes this sort of thing quite important! As I refuse to install Real Player on my system, I have been watching via my wifes laptop ;) No way Real Player is going on my machines! Perhaps they have cleaned up their act a bit since the old days when I was hassled by RP constantly wanting to phone home or asking me to pay for upgrades - but I don't forget that sort of thing!

Health report - well, a bit better currently. Less problems with the breathing, although it isn't perfect. According to my GP, my right foot got 0/10 in the Podiatrists report for sensitivity! That is something they check each year because of the diabetes issue I have - but I cannot honestly say that I have noticed anything - maybe they forgot the 1 in front of the 0 ;)

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Damn Windows.....

The daughters PC went wrong - no surprise, it runs Windows. Of course, I am expected to fix it as usual. As the problem is a Windows issue, rather than viruses or other junk, I agree. But she wants all her work saving - thats useful, considering the machine will not actually boot up fully!
Linux to the rescue ;) I could have used a live CD and rescued the data, but, as I partitioned the drive up when I set the machine up first, I installed Kubuntu on the spare partition. Successfully copied over the stuff she wanted to the Linux partition - but not got around to sorting the Windows install out as yet.
It gives her chance to use Linux ;) I got the usual complaints about how Linux is for Geeks etc - but now she has had to admit that Kaffeine ( a media player) is actually a lot better than anything in Windows.
She still isn't won over though - and of course, all her pals are calling her "geek" and stuff! But at least she can use the machine. She was using my main system for a few days - but that is Linux too, so at least she can sit in her own room and use her own system - even if it is with Linux. She didn't like my mouse - its a Logitech MX gaming mouse, so it is very quick and she is used to slow responses!
Guess I should fix the Windows machine - but I hate even using the word, never mind the (alleged) operating system.
I am not 100% anti-MS, but I personally don't use it or enjoy working on it. My main gripe with Microsoft is their business practices - those are what I object to.

Health update - been rough on and off. Last couple of days I have been a bit brighter - possibly because I stopped taking the ISMN so regularly. I take it on and off now - just maybe once a day. Also, I ran out of Nicorandil - so maybe that is relevant? Will mention it to the Quacks when I go for my yearly Cardiac and Diabetic clinic check next month. I bet they hate people like me who mess around with their meds ;) The thing is that they do not suffer from the illnesses, so they don't appreciate how badly the tablets interfere with patients lives. Take frusemide for instance. Its a diurectic - so you take it, you need the loo.... lots! Not much use if you want to go out - unless you are going somewhere with lots of convenient loos! The same applies to all the meds which lower my blood pressure. Doubtless in the medical books it says to issue out stuff to lower the BP - so thats what they do. It seems irrelevant that my BP is actually very low (around 90/45 generally). I take the meds - I go dizzy, short of breath etc.
Ah well - all good fun!

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Webcams....



Strange things,webcams. Especially in Linux!
Some time ago, I bought a cheap webcam - purely because it was really cheap and it *may* work in Linux - and if not, well, it didn't cost much!
Well, after a lot of fiddling to work out a suitable driver, it does. So I bought several more for experimental purposes.
The basic how-to for anyone with a similar cam (mine was a Chicony Twinklecam, but the same applies to Sweex cams and the Trust SpyC@m too) can be found over on one of my websites -
http://www.kernowyon.co.uk/linux_stuff/webcam.html

Anyway, the cam has never worked using the driver which the Linux kernel installs (as per the article) ....until now! Strangely, in Kubuntu, plugging in the cam loads the sn9c102 driver (which never worked for this cam) plus the spca5xx driver. And behold! It actually works! OK, it seems to be a case of plug cam in, unplug it and put it back again to get any joy - but its a start!
Not exactly 100% reliable as yet - seems to need some messing, but I have not seen any image prior to this without the sonixcam driver. So things are looking interesting for some hacking around with the drivers.
Talking of hacking (note: NOT cracking, which is the malicious stuff - the term hacking has been mis-used by the media), I converted one of my cheapo cams to be an infra red cam. Very easy to do - but different models vary on how you do the mod. My brother in law was the first to mod a cam based on some fun we had with an IR security camera I bought for wildlife watching. He has done several now - including assisting on the Chicony Twinklecam mod here.
His site - which has a step by step walkthrough for a Sweex cam and reports on others -

http://www.hoagieshouse.com/IR/

Pretty neat :)
I have some shots to demonstrate the difference between a real 100% IR only cam ( which is what the modded webcams are) and a security camera - which sees both IR and normal light. I will post them onto my website at some point and link the address here. Quite interesting - a monitor for instance in IR is blank - even when turned on - because of course, no IR is being emitted. The security camera - because it can see both IR and normal light - shows the image from the monitor.
All good fun :)

For those interested in my health, well, I *was* OK for a few days - not really having too much bother. This moring though, I have been pretty short of breath this morning. Came on around 10am - still going now at 11.45. Medication taken about 9am.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Genuine Advantage

Not written anything for a few days. Been busy ;)
Anyway, todays rant is Microsoft Genuine Advantage.
First thing, if you are not sure what an oxymoron is, have a look at the phrase "Microsoft Genuine Advantage".
That is an oxymoron!
Rarely have to suffer XP myself, but this wga.exe lark is causing lots of worry for users. With good reason - I frankly would not let Microsoft check out my system. Not that I have anything to hide - but why the hell should some corporation which has ,to say the least - dubious business practices - access to my data?
Seems many users of genuine legal versions of XP are being informed their copy is illegal. A number of fixes have been posted on various sites about stopping wga. Interestingly, some which worked a week or two ago no longer work. Why? Are Microsoft so desperate to check what users are up to that they are constantly blocking out the various workrounds to prevent this junk?
At the very least, I personally would use a decent firewall to block anything wga related. Of course, there is a chance that MS will simply add the data being transferred to another place - probably one of those two or three programs which cannot be blocked if you want web access! Renaming the .exe file is also a good idea - but I doubt it would work for long.

The best answer is to throw off the shackles of Microsoft altogether if you can. Many Linux distros are now very useable - Mandriva, Ubuntu...
I appreciate its not for all - but why not give it a try? Download a live CD - Knoppix or one of the Ubuntu distros perhaps - and try it out. If you like the idea, you can install Linux alongside Windows if you have space in a so called dual boot set up. Both Knoppix and the Ubuntu range will allow you to install from the live CD. Personally, I would recommend Kubuntu (Ubuntu with the KDE desktop) for newer users. Its easy to use, well documented and looks nice - whilst having literally thousands of free applications available to install easily.

Phew! That was a bit of a rant this morning!

Sunday, May 28, 2006

28 May

Not felt great today. I have however spent some time playing Cube :) For those who are not aware, Cube is a first person shooter type game. Its free - works in Windows, Mac and Linux - and is really great fun. Very fast and furious - a great way to spend a few hours online.
I have also been carrying out my usual sweeps of the Yoper Linux forum removing spam posts and doing a bit of edmin stuff. I am the forum administrator there. I will go into the Yoper distro in more depth later.
Anyway - thats it for today :)

Friday, May 26, 2006

26 May 2006

Another rough morning - felt Ok till after my meds. I did have to drive into town, so maybe that didn't help?
Spent the morning resting and feel a bit better now, but not 100% great.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Kernowyon ramblings

Felt a bit rough this morning - short of breath mostly. I have noticed this seems to be a regular event - get up, feel crap, struggle to breathe until around 11am when it seems to begin to ease. I need to keep an eye on that - see if it happens to coincide with anything - medication maybe? Or just lying down for the night allows fluid build up? Guess its some sort of CHF (congestive heart failure ) issue.
Later on, felt better - so I played Cube all afternoon :) If you have never played - its very fast paced FPS action. Basic graphics but very fast!

Monday, May 22, 2006

Beginnings...

Well, decided to set up a blog. Not sure why exactly - most are of no interest to anyone except the person who set it up...
This will doubtless be the same.
If you have an interest in heart disease, then it may be useful. Likewise, an interest in Linux, computing, geeky things....

Anyway - thats it. First post :)