2007 Year of the Laptop

Eweek has a great article here that gives a good look at how useful and often times over - purchased laptops are. They also say that the predominate amount of the market is pigeonholed by cheaper, sub 1000 or in my mind sub 700 dollar laptops. They make the point that to get a laptop this low one needs to lower the ram / graphics / and overall hardware costs. This leaves one open to windows Vista Basic which we all knows blows the big one. So this leaves users with the face of XP which is still great but better yet throws Linux into the fray which is ten times better. The point about the now cheap laptop market fueling linux is not wrong moreover, linux distros should be taking this opportunity to make their os's better suited and strong on laptops. Hell, this post was done on a 3 year old ibm r51 full of indestructible sexiness. But is it fast? Nope, could it run xp even very well when it was on it? Nope, can it run Linux Mint 4.0 like a steam rolling champ? Answer: Hell yes!

Firefox a One - Two -Three KO!

Hahaha, well we all know and love the little browser that could and after, one must admit a fairly dismal run after 1.5, it looks like we are seeing some improvements in the upcoming Firefox 3 that we simply did not know we needed! I mean, COME ON, who is not testing the best browser on the planet? Pimp it here cause we all know the folks at Wired have it down more then most of us.

Zune 80

We all know that my posts on this blog have been erratic to say the least but also you need to realize that I am at the height of my game and does that mean perhaps that I do not have access to a high speed, direct connection 24/7 because I am a DT? Well most would be able to say yes to this question but I am in the minority because of my local. Anywho, we also know that I loved and owned a Zune 30 since it came out in mid November 06. Recently, a Zune80 showed up on the doorstop which was actually quite a nice surprise. Having played with it for nearly 3 weeks, it is now time to release a bit of a review to my sporadic readers:

Design

18 Words: Black, subtle, sleek, urban, and well some 14 more. The design is far from perfect but the strong aluminum backing placed next to the flat black gives it an heir that is by far different then most other DAP's yet allows the player to retain an air of quality which is a must these days with people thinking Ipod's are the ultimate end all of DAP design which is complete and utter rubbish.

Movement

Working so close to a residence is especially nice these days with gas prices even though I might own a car which could easily be called anorexic. So one usually finds themselves hiking between work and sleep which means that music definitely needs to occur on both sides of the trip. Navigating the menus is simple with the tactile / touch z-pad (I will never call it a squirqle). It is pretty much like scrolling through music with a bicycle wheel, you spin it up and it simply flows through your artists/albums/etc and you stop it with a simple click. If that does not touch your fancy then you can simple use the tactile buttons to get there, much like the Zune30. This appears to be the best marriage between touch and tactile that has come out of the warring DAP companies so far.

Software

There has been a lot of caustic remarks all over the place about the software and how it messes up people's collections and seems to do a fairly good job at pulling people's hair out when organizing tracks. This of course would not happen if we would take care of our music and tag it at the mp3 itself and not use itunes or some other program besides foobar. Besides this small point, the software is incredibly easy and intuitive for any user. The only problem is that one never knows when the files were added or if they were recently added. The old software had a recently added tab for both the software and the device which made tracking songs very easily as well as fixing them along the way.


WIFI

Yes!!! They sort of did something right by taking away the three day rule from the three play / three day problem but they still left it with a DRM hamper. Of course, most of the stuff I receive from other zune's are complete rubbish but I am sure some of us trade good songs...while other then myself really. This feature, although probably highly unused is still a trump card: see a zune, connect, hey I bet you would like this band, they are really cool and worth your musical time and money. With the new software they also gave it the ability to wire-lessly sync music from a computer to the device. This feature has not been tested because I live in the boondocks with no wireless network needed but I doubt I would use it since DAP's music collection needs to stay as clean and simple as the computer collection. I am sure the transfer keeps the items the same but I am paranoid...enough said? Again, not having wireless connectivity or the need to set up a network, I do not use it but if I did I definitely would for updating podcasts on the fly.

Overall

The player itself is a huge step up from the predecessor however, if I had not been given one I would have waited a couple of more months for the to release third party items like cases/docks/speakers. In addition I felt like the touchpad was somewhat dim when I first started but either I learned or it softened up and now I can fly with the little thing. The main item that distinguishes the Zune80 over the Ipod then? Well there you have your answer Mr. Naysayer...it is not an Ipod and never will be. If you want an item that has been really the same for three iterations then sure go for an Ipod Classic (The touch is in it's own league and anyone who uses it to compare against the Zune80 is also a bit dim) but if you want something refreshing, fun, different, black, freakishly well made and string, and customizable then the Zune is yours.

Fighting Wee Ones

23

You know, when you don't have enough time in a day to get done what real work you might have....kinda like all of us.

The Christmas Season

Well, there has been quite a bit of spontaneity between this and my twitter blog for the past month for several positive reasons. First off there has been a distinct lack of time where I am usually to busy finding more time to congeal with what little time there is to do anything fun...oh yeah, I consider this stuff fun. Also the work load has piled on...blah, blah it goes on from there. However, it is that pesky time of the year that comes around and gives us all our nice spring spare tires...you guessed it folks.

The combination between the food consumed during the holidays, you could probably feed people in a developing country for the next year. Answer? Well you are in luck because for this insane seasoning of non stop drinking, hanging out with friends who know you but you can't seem to muster a word to their face there is a savior: simply walk around in your birthday suite. Maybe not to work but it should suffice in the rest of situations that you do not want to find yourself in. Cheers ya'all. This post proves that there will be more to come and I actually have to throw up some cool reviews that have been collecting dust.

Moreover, my novel which was to begin and end in November did not happen....sadly I hit the 120 page mark and had no where to go so there is always next summer or next November. Stay cool all!

i -DEN

Language warning:

Alright folks, not to put people in a pinch but nextel FUCKING BLOWS. Now if you do not know I have been trying to calm my language because this industry is attracts it like no one's business. The whole i-DEN network is one the largest heap of steaming crap that I have ever seen. It is actually so bad that the Sprint network that bought them out refuses to incorporate them into their very business...of course this is not to say that Sprint has got a lot going for them these days but...oh well. Just remember....Nextel = tards peeling bannanas.

Opera Mini 4

Well we all know that you are not a techno geek unless you have an uber cool techno geek ish phone thing. Anyway, if you dropped the dough for that fly phone then I atleast hope you are continuing to drop it on an unlimited data plan because...frankly there is no reason to have most of those features without being able to connect to the net whenever you feel the urge.

So....since you can connect to the net, how are you going to surf it? My response is the new un-beta'd Opera Mini 4. The 3rd and last beta sat on my phone for the past couple of months but due to a complete lack of compatability where the browser would actually soft crash my phone it was useless unless I was in heavily saturated coverage areas....which are far and few between round here. However, when I did use it was 100 hundred times better then Blazer which is the default for you'ze palm users. Now though, I would love to say that the browser is mostly perfect.

It has a sleek interface that seems to flip through pages extremelly easy. It shows a hugely zoomed out version of the web page though it zooms in and out when you need and even allows you to scroll by holding and pulling the screen which is a nice feature from using the tactile buttons on the center of my palm. Overall it is rather a small feature set but it makes browsing on anything that isn't an Iphone a simle, elegent and fun activity which is often times needed when you are getting mentally screwed by someone singing about airport security.

Be a part of a NanOriMo without the work!

If you do not all know, this month is National Write a Novel Month. The sporatic and almost ghosted posting is due to me actually attempting to pull this one off. You have to complete 175 pages or 50,0o0 words from the 12:01 am on the 1st of the month until 11:59 on the 30th. This basically means that one needs to produce around 6 pages of prose writing per day......goo! So far I am around 36 pages in which is around 6 pages down which I think is good.

If you want to contribute to the writing though I am focusing on a fiction set in a techno / steam punk / victorian time frame. You are welcome to comment on...well anything that you want to see. Should my main character die in a horrific fire fight with his older, sometimes thought to be queer brother? You tell me and I will send a snippet to your email of choice and if this gets big I will start posting revisions on squib so the whole world can see it and what you have contributed. Bring on the ideas all!!!

Turning 50

Post number 50...HUZZA. You don't know or care but I am letting it ride high! Thanks everyone for being a part of technology in education on the bleeding ear...duh, edge.

November Writing Month

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/whatisnano

Well, getting excited these days is a rarity....but the above link points to the Writing Month of November.  Apparently there is a contest that starts on the 1st of the month and runs to the end where you are expected to create a novel which entails 175 pages.  This is an all out kamikaze brawl to produce anything and everything coherent.  The verdict:  Bring it on, I can't wait!.

Blogged with Flock

Ubuntu On The Fly

Being in the educational technology field you rarely get time off to enjoy yourself in the most simplistic ways. Today I decided to take my laptop and head over to a coffee place simply to surf the web and squawk to you all. Since Gutsy Gibbon is on my laptop I decided to boot into and simply play with it like any "non power" user would. I find it harder and harder these days to get into the Linux distros simply because I need a windows "professional" environment to get by in a day to day Novell life. so getting into something different has been really refreshing. Moreover, for the first time Ubuntu might have hit a nail right on the head. It seems like, with a little exploring, someone could sit down and finally have a functioning, free OS. This is absolutely fantastic because it puts Vista and Leopard in mind when it comes to the teachers laptops every year. Can we go free software finally, can we relieve ourselves from the overhead costs, and can we break free from the ms tyranny? The answer is probably not but with every distro release we are come closer and closer.

BTW, this was written by someone who can use computers but works with people who really can not so do not give me flak about how I refuse to see it from the home user's perspective.

Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon Review

Alrighty all, looks like I have had plenty of time with the new release from Canonical systems. Ubuntu has always been a favorite flavor of the Linux desktop OS and continues to peg the leader boards at Distro Watch. In many cases the community sees many steps forward when it comes to the Ubuntu 6 month release schedule. I am glad to anounce that it is mostly all there with the new release of Gutsy Gibbon or Ubuntu 7.10.
Everything is normal when it comes to downloading, burning, and installing the Ubuntu ISO. A nice welcome screen appears during the live cd install and you would seriously have to have done NOTHING with a computer to mess up the relatively brainless install. When you pull the cd out and reboot for the first time you get a clean and even fast (which is different from most Ubuntu installs) load and login screen.
The desktop has always been Ubuntu's hard point. In the past it has been very sterile, clean and brown. I am glad to say that not much has changed in this realm. They have spiced up the desktop with snazzy windows (depending if you have the hardware to run the acceleration), a different default background (which really ties the desktop together), and the same application bar on top / windows bar on bottom. One of the largest changes comes in the "work spaces" function of Linux.
Not many people actually use this feature because it was awkward to change from one to another. This issue was solved with the "cube" that beryl uses but has cleaned up a bit with a simple set of keys that allows the user to jump from one to another. This allows multiple applications running in different spaces and ultimately keep your desktop clean from the clutter of daily computing. Beyond this and the renaming of certain folders under your "home" not much has changed in the distro. However, there are a few problems that exist which may assist the simple user but distract the power user.
The new User switching feature which is pasted to the left side of the top bar does not make sense to have on the desktop after the install. If you have multiple users then there is going to be a lot of logging in and out not really "switching" users. This is really the only beef I see with this new release. Now I am a bit biased because Ubuntu was the first distro that I played with so when it comes to my comfort zone Ubuntu fits right in it. The simplistic desktop style, ease of installing software, and almost all system information at the very fingertips of the user blends itself into a user friendly, OS experience.
From the blue outline showing how big to the resized windows are to the amazing sudoku app, this and Mint OS will be the height of anyones Linux distribution experience. Thank you for the freeness.

Oink

Lets take some time to remorse a good...no a great friend who has passed into the place that is the death of all great sites. Oink, we loved you, you had some of the best tunes for the person who just was not able to go clear across a sea to purchase. You will be remembered, ciao bella!

Lack of Control

Who hear can actually say they red Out of Control by Kelly? It basically outlines how we are on a spiraling pattern of decay where the items that we command to control our lives go crazy and leave us in the wake. We all have this feeling in IT but it usually is controlled by a couple clicks here and there. What this is getting at is never, ever decide that a wireless bridge might work even if you know for a FACT that it clearly won't. In the end you are the only one who knows that they are right and you do not need to give in to someone who has a better title then you. Granted you might be younger, with less experience and more pimples but you know what? You live it and you know how back woods you are. Learn from your mistakes and deal with the stuff that comes your way in a manner that kicks the ever living ass of the people who have done this kind of stuff in a "perfect" setting. Because you know what? Screw em, they have no clue how to invoke results.

The Sales Pitch

Alright this is an entitled response to people selling IT related junk.

When and if you ever get on the phone with someone who knows what they are doing, you best be overtly prepared.  You need your sales pitch written on your palm pilot or if you can not afford one atleast your hand.  You need to express yourself lightly, nicely, and clearly in order to make it perfectly crystal that I am in absolute need of what you are selling.  If your product is clearly stumped by well....being complete rubbish then you need to turn my mood around and make me feel like I will win 1 million bucks if I drop a couple hundred on your product during this call.  Listen, what you need to do is pull your head which is ever so carefully placed up your ass out, and tell me what, why and when.  If I then sound apprehensive about the whole deal refrain from telling me your product works better then the one I have which is free.  Oh yeah, free is good by the way, so if you want to get a good sale make your crap free.  Capisce?

Thought so....oh yeah because if you get it wrong you will be digging my crotch out of your teeth for days (pelvic thrusts hurt fyi).

Blogged with Flock

Broken - Buntu

Well...downloaded the the Gutsy-Gibbon beta and it officially took me 15 minutes to break it.  Now X just chills and hangs doing nothing....oh yeah I am that good.  Anyway I will definitely download the release and a full (semi) review will follow.

Flock

Oh,

As a result, the last two blog posts...counting this one were done with a spiffy browser named Flock.  Not quite in it's 1.o phase flock seems to offer some rich items for the like minded, web 2.0 human being.  It plays beautifully with blogger, flicker, and has a great plugin for twitter.  In addition, it will do rss, youtube, and me.dium all within the browser.  The only big gripe I have is it does nothing to integrate into Facebook which is not a full time hobby like it is with most people, but we all can have our hopes and dreams.  Respect, the elephant-eas and have a good night.

Death to the Word SUB-Net

Ok, as you don't all know subnets in themselves are a royal pain in the ass. I usually take my time and avoid them, staying close to the class A version of the world. However, a whole new beast has reared it's head and wants to be my friend in the same way I don't need to just take some relax"able" time with someone or something cool.

Class C and Class A, we can call them simply A and C want to mate in one spot together however, that spot is located in a library which is frequented by a shitload of people on a daily basis. So A decides that perhaps C could hide out on the balcony and perhaps cuddle for a while but C does not like the idea of being outside in the cold with nothing to think about besides sweet, sweet A. So what happens? How do A and C come together and mate into F? Well they don't. I know this is it for everyone but maybe, someday....maybe A and C will be able to be together in pure harmony; coexisting and reproducing like the nasty, freaks they are. Peace!

Something for Everyone

If you work at a boarding school you probably are required to do some kind of duty which entails watching over the kids in a fairly shitty attempt to minimize the harm they can do to themselves. Well as luck has it tonight, due to duty is what I like to call shotgun night. Perhaps this will work in the coming weeks but who knows. The basis of it revolves around short snippets that either rate something, describe my life, talk about a product that will make yours better, etc, etc. If you do not get it, don't worry, it's your fault.

Alright here we go; lets see how a 1 minute time frame works:

• Life ending often brings upon something new
• Amazon will/should pawwn with their new music service
• Zune better release something soon or Ipods away
• Shuffling life is awesome
• Everyone needs to read 2010 return of Quetzlecoatle
• Heroes 2 is/will be amazing
• TorrentSpy needs to come back to usa.

Sweet, not too much in there but it has been a fairly hectic week and one should realize that often times brain power is left in the dust when it comes to sleeping on a mattress that deflates itself after 5 hours of sleeping on it. So if you can, and you should since it is 45 percent of your life, get something that is comfortable.

To My Readers...or Reader

Something that we all need to understand is that people work. Big surprise for most of you couch potatoes but people in reality have jobs. So if you want to keep up with my sporadic posts keep up with my twitter....on the right side of my blog. Your welcome.

Lotus Symphony

Well we all know that the good ole folks at IBM bought out Lotus in the mid 90's. And if you have half a brain and can remember even what Lotus was, you know that they made some quality office based programs. Their recent iteration which, is definitely still in its beta form (REALLY still in Beta (bird flipping air in defiance of Java)) seems to hold up to Lotus' old sweet suites.

The beta comes with a Document, Spreadsheet, and Presentation tool which all actually integrate into one large kind of backdrop. This allows you to use tabs to work on three different items rather then work with 3 different windows which can get fairly cluttering on a normal screen screen. This, with the weird bluish tones make it look semi-familiar with Microsoft's Office suite ribbon setup. This allows the user to have almost everything that they need (Cut, paste, sorting, saving, opening, font, color, columns, tables and...AUTO COMPLETION (for the lazy one)) within a one click reach which is a must need when working around a useless document for your boss or colleague who can not get their minds around a full day without some type of spreadsheet. In addition all of your useless functions at the moment (depending what you have highlighted / clicked on) are either grayed out.

A really simple, and obviously nice feature is the ability to show a thumbnail version of every tab that you are working on and their respective names. This means a visual representation when working with a huge amount of papers and or spreadsheets. Speaking of spreadsheets, it appears that there is a lot going on in that area when it comes to technicalities. Office 2007 let us down fairly heavily, and us meaning the end user that knows something. By oversimplifying their program Microsoft left a lot of techyies (SP, what?!), who enjoyed their complicated spreadsheet schemes in the dust..because they never had a chance to get them moving.

Besides the overextended need of Java, this looks like a nice suite that easily has replaced Open Office for now. It can be downloaded from IBM.com if you go through the pain of making an account and actively looking for it. As an alternative to Microsoft Office I am not completely sold. But if they do release this as open or free software then I think it can give Microsoft a really good run for its money due to the hefty need for users to re-adapt to Office 2007. Viva la free! Ciao all.

Result (just cause it is awesome)

A Long Time Away

Well as everyone that probably does not frequent this blog knows, the posting has been fairly sparse as of late. If anyone works in the education side of business you know how hard it is to even think about doing number 2's when it comes to the opening of school. Nothing really works like you had envisioned, you have people asking for new quote after new quote simply because the first one was frankly the one that is going to work, people needing everything including..who would have guessed - more computers, and the proverbial:

"This program does not work."
"Did you use it all during the summer?"
"Ummm......no."
Anger.

All of these things build up to where a one man band might simply snap, start throwing expensive tech out your room and proclaim you are going back on that vacation that you were promised yet never allowed to take because "shit was too busy in the summer." Sorry all, but there is no way one person can do this job alone and effective. So if you plan on hiring make sure to have room for two positions and do not take the cheap route cause guess what? You are stuck with what that one person wants to do....muAHHAHAHAH.

How you say IT?

tech‧nol‧o‧gy -- Spelled Pronuncia[tek-nol-uh-jee]
noun
1. magic.
2. basically anything really cool that you don’t know how it works…and if it breaks, you have to buy a new one.

Yep, you know this pretty much sums up what technology is and how people that actually work in technology function. There is no possible way that the amount of stuff that we need to do and or get done in a day can not be defined by the word MAGIC. This is of course not specific only to this job but technology loves to manifest itself in a fashion that only one who can wield the TRUE power of MAGIK to solve all.

Scribefire

As the below post proves, scribefire's new update fixed the wonkey things within blogger. Let the blogging begin!

Test

This is a test. To see. If. Scribefire's update. Worked

Tee Time!

Ah......school time has arrived. Whether, we all start this coming week or after Labor Day you know that you have meetings this week or next. It should be the regular bore-fest with someone constantly spewing their summer at you or having to watch a someone perform cpr on a dummy for 2 hours. If you feel like the rest of us and just can not seem to find something to do here are some web sites to get you through the time:

1. www.stumbleupon.com (All time favorite, search the web randomly following selected criteria)
2. YouTube (Great for more then one person huddling around the computer)
3. Wikipedia (For the constantly curious)
4. Ebaumsworld (Hilarious often time discusting videos)
5. Operation Clambake (Scientology stuff...real good for sucking you in)
6. Craigslist (Find it all)

It is not a complete list but it works and it will get you through a couple of solid days. Happy hunting all and do not forget, it is 15 and 2 for kids AND adults these days, remember cause that has changed.

DD-WRt

What happens when your user bases grows beyond your network?  Tis easy: install wifi points for kidsees.  Anyone who is IT knows that to take a good amount of users per AP you really need to spend some money on items like Proxim / Orinoco or even Cisco.  Do to the unique funding that most schools embrace people are often on their own to find the alternatives.  Well they are few and far between but a good solution to all open source routers or AP's is a firmware called DD-WRT.  Most linksys or Buffalo based routers will take this firmware with little or no computer knowledge....so it is applicable in home applications as well for all you late night client goers.  Anyway, it basically takes your less then mediocre router and pumps it up to the same level of the Ciscos.  The TFTP funcions can get a little hairy and you need to get your timing down on certain routers but overall a couple of tries is in need to get the overall hang of it.  Once finished you have custom firmware that can demolish any stock firmware...ever!  Ahh...gotta go since for somereason blogger 
hates opera when you hit here!

Life WITH the Internet

There still exists a good number of people who still, to this day do not have a high speed data connection to their home despite what the rest of the (civilized) outside world has to say.  The sad part is that I am encompassed within this demographic.  In many cases this is a good thing since most of the night would be wasted on WOW or some web 2.o...thing.  For the next week the internet is provided via an external job which should be good right?  Well no, not much has gone on since the start of this job and conversation is at an all time low.  Access during the day is nice, you can answer almost all questions but should we cut it out of our nightly lives?  Well since most people waste their life on the couch watching the un-you tube, "no" is my vote.

Taking Back My Computer

Most of us who work for the IT industry, education industry or perhaps both usually are provided with their very own laptop that seems to update itself magically every few years.  So the big question is what do you do with YOUR own laptop:  Well how about try a sweet, sweet flavor of linux.  Right now have been wrestling with a computer that should be able to destroy most distros as well as house Beryl and any other programs.  However, however, always go after it with ATI for some reason Geforce's drivers are so damn stupid in Linux that it is yet to be funny.  Postings on completed and sexyness floating, rotating cubes await.

Outage

We all know how difficult the above word can be within an orginization, big or small.  Here are some things that do not help the IT people get by:

1. Shouting or Raising your voice.
2. Crossing your hands over your chest
3. Suggesting perhaps changing ISP's
4. Calling and leaving multiple voice mails.

If any of this is spurt from a fellow employee ask them if they would not mine stepping into your shoes for a bit while you take a hearty lunch break.  We all know that people can not stand it when IT folks start jibber 
jabbering in their own language.  
In this case simply start explaing to them the problem in the most 
conveluted IT terms known to man.  
This will make them stop, pee and walk away all at the same time.  
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Opera

We all know and love what is considered FireFox in the "Internet World."  However, we also know that Google put its money where it's mouth...was and put it all into a nifty browser called Opera.  Years ago I will admit, I fiddled with the Opera phenomenon....before it was free you freaks!  However, it was never liked at the time never free.  Well I met a kid at school once who was beyond cool yet....pshaa he used Opera.  Again I tried and it failed flat on it's fat oval face.  I picked it up the other day and here we go for a second time.  Things have come along way with the browser and man has it changed.  Take your own time and check it out but don't come running when you put Firefox on the background.  Ciao all....and sorry for the lame / speradic updates for all my....non-users.

Podcast of the Week: GFW Radio.

An Ipod for a Day

If you do not know how unbelievably anti apple I am you truly don't know me. But if you take the word "ipod" away from the whole picture and use DAP (Digital Audio Player) instead, we find tons of cool things to do. You can have you kids download webcasts and respond to them, kids can use them as study tools with books, you can download content and show it through certain playback systems, etc. All of these things allow the teacher to take one step closer to how the students learn in our digital age. However, according to this site the top 17th (out of 50) thing to do with your ipod is get mugged. I guess that will teach you not to buy anything from apple again...and we all need that sometime in our life.

Iphonery!

Since the world is caught up in it and though I can not call where I live actually in the world the Iphone has struck..or will, or whatever. Tomorrow is the official release and man have there been some serious campers out there:

Professional Line Sitter Greg Packer can be seen here waiting for his shiny new Iphone. Personally, this man encompasses the user base that macs have...you know, semi - stout, hairy, shirtless, etc, etc. In addition, I bet KFC sells a whole lot more boxed chicken during highly anticipated releases like this. We will see how the releases go tomorrow, personally I think that someone is going to get hurt, mugged, stabbed over all of this. Anyway you can let Wired keep you up to date here.

Parking Lot Know-How

Sitting here in the parking lot of some obscure mall in the cell service void that is the South something just clicked. Parking lots like this can teach people a lot about life. Mainly: there are too many people with to much lack of both common and intelect sense, many of these people are overweight, and even though there might be an institute of higher learning that attepts to be above it's own status, it simply can not graduate people who uphold anything besides the title "sub par, overpriced state school." Yep sorry folks, the truth is in the pudding. Know one really knows who or how the new school year will be but make it the best by attracting the kids that fit your mold. Do not feel bad about turning a student away. They belong elsewhere and eventually you will fill that tuition space.

Written Appleology

Well we all know how caustic some people can be towards...well anything really. So for the harsh words written in the previous post I am issuing a formal apology...
..
.....
PSYCH, pshhh...screw that. The Onion has an amazing preview here of some of the more anticipated features of the upcoming Apple feature. My favorite:

"Nanotechnology enables it to reassemble itself when thrown against wall"

Hahaha, all Apple products need this.

Attempting failure: Ubuntu Server on my FreeServ with Fluxbox
WoWNFo: 40 Shaman drool.

Getting Away

Even though now-a-days CIOs to help desk workers have complete access to their jobs at any location that has an IP, we all feel that we need to be glued to our desk...on site. We seldom realize that getting out and talking to people about something that is not technology can lead us to think of cool, exciting, and fresh things to try. When we get too comfortable with our situation one often losses the will to think up new stuff. A vacation is always needed, this might be to a coffee shop for the afternoon or a two week excursion to the Alps. For example, I have a server, nothing to do with it and balm...Ubuntu Server with Flux-box. I have no idea how to do it but some command line learning , some LAMP work and it should be fine.

Music of The Week:
Animal Collective - Feels - 2007
WOW:
Level 40 Draenei Shaman....SOOO close.

Iphone my Rear

Techno Rant Warning:
Anyone who is anyone in the world of technology loves their phones....or hates them, whatever. There is always that guy (girl?) at the party that is getting, what a friend of mine refers to as a 'nerd-boner' over their brand new cell phone. Now we all know that that guy is going to show off his shiny new Iphone like it is a mobile powerhouse of doom (not likely with the 0 3rd party support). No offense Apple, but I enjoy my 755p and I like styluses....wana know why? Cause I am NOT LAZY! I know, it might come to a surprise for some people but most people have no need for a cumbersome click screen, a combination of so many items none of them work, or a phone that will break the moment I unfold it from Apple's beautiful packaging.

Everyone is Ipod this, Ipod that, shit my Zune is an Ipod to most people but....guess what how well did that Apple Tv work out for ya? Sorry but Apple is going to have to try a whole lot harder to establish themselves into the market. Perhaps the new Ipod will lift them from their Iphone blunder, maybe not. For now, goodbye Iphone party jerks. Moreover, no one will pay the outragous price tag to be tied to an at$t network so I doubt anyone will own one anyway. Toodles.


Techno TIP: If you go to the beach....make sure to bring something to charge your DAP.

Retractions

Well, a couple months back I was hyped on the aspect of Scribefire. I found it to be a rather cool way to make posts to my blog when I felt the need. Well.. not so much. First time was a charm, now every time I attempt to make a blog post it adds ntsb after every period. How much do I not like this? A lot more then when I actually enjoyed the program. Until this is solved....performance? I am stuck doing it the old fashion way.

Beach and Forza 2 = Go Away, too much fun.

New Character: Yukall level 9 hunter (Blackrock Raiders). FOR THE HORDE!

Slow

Well, everyone who is inundated with educational fumes understands the boringness that exists of the dreaded 12 month contract. Sure, times are all good and fun when the students are running around and creating trouble. Now...now you need to actually work with your peers and try and understand....well...what went wrong the during the entire year.

Thinks to-do today:
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SC 2

Well anyone who has a life...or rather does not, knows that Blizzard Entertainment announced this past weekend that they would be releasing Starcraft 2. The buz around it seems to imply that perhaps an open beta perhaps this year and/or even the game itself will be released by the end of next year. Which would make sense since they were claiming they had been working on it since 2003. Well as I am cleaning the poop out of my pants in anticipation; downloading, installing and playing the first one has been a nostalgic romp back to 1998 and my fleeting love of strategy games....ala c&c 3 and Warfront.

Game of Choice: Starcraft / Dead or Alive 4
Feisty Fawn: Flawless....month and half
Cell Reception: Flawless...peeing myself.

AP

One phone call to the AP test technicians led to an insightful yet odd sounding idea on how to fix the IME which apparently can withhold a user from effectively typing anything on the first question of the Japanese Exam:

solution: Simply turn off the ability of the language bar to appear on the start menu portion of windows XP.

During test day everything goes swell until the moment the student reaches the test. A sound is made that incites an idea that the very same thing has occurred as it did on the first day of the exam.

On the phone with tech support and oops, you were SUPPOSED to leave the check-box checked that said "place the language bar on the start bar." Man, how could we have messed it up that badly. Simply restart the test and we should be good to go. For now it seems like it is working but if there exists a more amateur bunch of people who are coding I dare for you to show me. Because quite frankly these people are morons.

Palm and People

Well, I received my nice and new (shiny?) 755p today and do to Sprint's awesomeness I now have service wherever I go and I am able to do everything that one should do anywhere else in this world...minus Virginia.



Anyway, without really getting into the whole technical side of business it seems to be a more compact, sleeker, and much more complicated piece of machinery over my TUngsten E. It also is ridiculously light and looks absolutely pimp in burgundy.



Well it is down to that time of year that teachers are going overboard to the point that they are hounding on any scapegoat they can find because something went wrong. Well, there is an amazingly simple answer to all this mess: If you were to use the software when you were supposed to (every day of the year) you would not have problems logging in, modifying items, updating software, etc. The one thing that so few people understand who actually teach is that if you want to hold your students accountable for the work they have to do then you should show some common sense and keep your end of the accountability deal. Nuff said?

One word.....starts with 'G'....Flatchulence!

Questionable Context Reading:

Well we all know that if we haul on as we will, by the time Wednesday the 23 rolls around we will see gas prices over 3 dollars for the longest recorded period by the AAA. Now I know that I try to withstand from the petty problems that our state of the union has under it's belt but I am sorry. A statement like this:

"The current price increases are due to problems in gasoline supplies and refinery output"

is an out right lie and if you do not know it or believe it you are a complete idiot! What has changed in the past 90 days that has caused the prices to soar out of control...nothing, BINGO! You know what would help this situation, and even though I hate the subject and almost every teacher who teaches it is neurotic but a little course called economics. This has begun to be an over the top ramble but someone needs to kick someone where the sun continues to fail to shine. Oh and this is coming from someone who majored in Political Science.

Something for the Soul

In the event of a solid lightning strike please rinse and repeat:



one broken box:

1 new processor

1 new mobo

1 gig of ram

2 sata 360gig drives

1 sata 80 gig source drive

1 ati x1950 gt



Lots of love. He who does not like to rebuild comps doesn't belong in the realm of technology. Arriving at work today was one of the most forced, stressful things in the world however; after a simple rebuild I am right ready to take on the world....minus GroupWise

Appoligies

We all know that there are just some days (weeks) where we have completely way too much stuff to do. This has been going of for the past couple weeks and has altered my blogging abilities. Moreover, the public and private schools out there are all winding down and looking for reasons to try and keep the children preoccupied. For the technology folk they are wondering what they are going to do for the summer that will help the school for the following school year. This, lightning, mothers day and everything else can sometimes haze our scheduling abilities therefore leaving us with a lot of stuff to do and no where enough time to do it. A tip for anyone going bonkers: Quit for the day and do something you love that has to do with exercise (go for a long cycle ride, run, water ski, etc) and come back and enjoy your day with something that isn't coding, looking towards the future, or what is broken right now. This will release the pressure on your brain and will calm you for the impending storm. Moreover, shopping is too expensive; just remember....there will always be tomorrow. And now some words of wisdom:



Best Buy: Shocks Junga

Gaming: XBOX 360 ELITE!!!

Getting the Rubber on The Road

OK everyone who has slight epiphanys during the day yet doesn't have enough time to post them in your blog, there is something out there for you. Of course this will only work with our handy-dandy Firefox web browse but who cares because we all know that IE has its problems and pluses. However, the extension you are looking for is called ScribeFire. A simple Google search should bring you right to the sight so you can be up and running in no time. So far it works really well, is extremely easy to use (set up as well) and saves the lazy from needing to log in. Check it out and keep those educational blogs ever active!



Ubuntu operational: 10+ days

Music: Arctic Monkeys: Favorite Worst Nightmare.

Feisty Fawn

OK all...after making time to sit down and actually play around with the distro I must admit it is one of the best I have used in the past 6 months (Fedora, Sabayon, Gentoo, Arch) and am pleased how easy it was to set everything up. As of recent I tweaked the Latitude D620's Quadro card to work with 6.10 and was impressed with the beryl graphical interface. Some of the items may be to "kitchy" but you can simply turn those off.
Hardware / Install:
After waiting over 10 hours to download the iso (server's bombarded), get it burned, and go through the mind numbing install process everything was right there (I did not try the windows migration system that was built into the install process). The system told me that I would need a special driver for my graphics card and installed it shortly after (BIG difference from 6.10 with the Quadro NVS cards). It detected my Proxim Gold Card and the rest of the hardware on the laptop. Often times this is the biggest set-back with linux however, the Ubuntu programmers have made it as simple as checking a box which if we all remember is 100 times easier then fighting with specific drivers in Windows.
The Desktop:
There are some noticeable different screens from previous versions of Ubuntu (Example: log on screen) which bring a more fashionable sense to the overall OS. This will most likely appeal to the average and even intermediate to advance users: Come on we all like eye candy. Beryl, Open Office 2.2, Gnome 2.18.1, Tracker, Tomboy, and Banshee round out a wonderful list of items that are at every one's free fingertips (Synaptics).
My Verdict:
Linux will never be Windows folks and that is a great thing! All the developers that have worked long and hard on this distro have done a phenomenal job. The whole system runs flawlessly and has no overall need to be Windows or a Windows killer. I urge the educators out there to give this distro a try. Dual boot, like I do and see what you have been missing while trapped in the windows world. Almost all of our apps are going off site and through the net (Blackboard, Edline, Gradequick, Email) so you should have no reason to give Ubuntu a try. Moreover, tell all your friends about how you have something that is truly great and free!

(Ubuntu)Days without Breaking: 1

The Power of the "P"

One man can only stand a conversation for so long. When the receiving end (me) is barraged by the other end. This would, of course be OK if the one end in speculation had anything to say or could change the very tone of their voice but they can't. They simply talk at you like they know who you are but they can't seem to remember your name. Moreover, they only know that you are who you are due to what is front of you. This must trickle down into their kids and eventually their kids. Perhaps and probably the root of education's problem lies in the parent and not solely in the student. Or maybe it is some exotic mind meld that we have zero control over. Anyway here are some top upcoming software that is on my list of awesomeness:

Ubuntu 7.04: Released early next week this should really be a Microsoft burner due to its enhanced graphics, driver base, and an already sweet gnome 2.18. The moment it hits the ground I will be downloading it and reinstalling over my recent install of 6.10, and a full review will ensue.

AntiVir: We all know www.free-av.com and the amazing product that they have. However, all of us geeks that upgraded to vista have had to stick with a some sub par anti-virus selections. However, on the 19th we will be back to safety with the Vista release of AntiVir classic.

Who knows where this blog will run in the future. Hopefully there will be ample software / hardware review for all the Technology folks who work in Education. We all know it is a different animal then Government or Business thus giving us the ability and knowledge to tackle it each day. We just need some place to vent our anger and strategies to the real world and hopefully this is what the blog will morph into.

Ferrenzy

Working within the realm of technology in private education can surely be the downfall of ones psyche. Working with people who have sometimes no idea what a problem is and attempting to get their brains to encompass the concept can sometimes be a full time job beyond networking. With this in mind how can we, who currently assist the non profit education world succeed in a new face of learning for the sometimes undignified youth of America? Should we completely force everyone into a new teaching world or should we simply revert back to how we were taught? Is there a happy medium and how is one person expected to reach this ideal with the limited resources in the education world?

--This of course is a rhetorical question with no definitive answer. These questions allow us as "techno - gurus" to vent and allow us to get through the day...even though sometimes those days turn into 7 day weeks.

Menacing Wednesdays

We all like to sleep through the night with a wonderful rain storm. However, It Managers fear that perhaps their systems got caught up in it, the backups don't post and everything spirals into a foreseeable death for the manager who had a ruff Tuesday. Because this all happens to the best of us, especially living in rural Virginia, refrain from emailing your users that their email isn't working. Doing this because you know it is funny does not mean that everyone does. Oh, and if you use windows server....you have it too easy as it is, so don't complain. All it takes is a breath of fresh air and your index finger and poof.

Days with a dickey hip: 3
Days with Ubuntu: 6

Blogging about blogging

Yep 10 miles run, 3 days on ubuntu and now sitting in a room listening to Will Richardson talk about blogging. Shit I am in trouble.

My Ubuntu Experience

Well my OS learning curve has surely been kicked the hell off the curb. I have used Ubuntu and other Linux based OS's in the past and have been fairly OK with them. However, after having a great install of Windows Vista Ultimate Business Edition Mach One....Series Two.....Alpha....18 I thought my best bet would be to go towards Ubuntu again.

We can all rejoice because I used it for 2 hours and I am going through my second install. Thank the be-geezes for Gparted and a relatively quick install process. Oh for someone who thinks that they want to dive in and install Beryl for some neat-oh graphics....remember to finish the install before rebooting. We all know Feisty is arriving in April but for now lets keep a running tally of how long I can keep this install going without breaking it completely.

Oh and remember, when one needs to attend a meeting that they clearly don't want to. Bring a bullet and perhaps a gun to fire it out of if the need were to arise.

Humanely Impossible

"human role models suck"
"i want a fanny pack.... fanny packs equal sex"

A Korean Menace

A perfect recipe for complete chaos:

1 part distressed Korean
2 dashes of distress
2 Alpha MALE complexes
50 bazillion years of a power complex
3 cups of coughing powder

Please add all together in a small bowl; perhaps the smallest one you have. After ingredients have been left to rise in room temps, remove, and add to a skillet on high and cook for as long as needed. Feeds a 1-2, Enjoy

Dutey

It rhymes with lufey and boy....does it come in handy when you want to dish out a whole lot of funny stuff to the kids. School is more fun when you are chuckling at the kids cause there is no way they will understand what the hell you are laughing at. No one has any idea.

Buah

Record,

First draft of this Blog, record.