Uber Disappointing Linux
Now, far be it from me to make the "official judgement" but from my experience last night and this morning UberStudent didn't make the grade. I'm just going to sum up my lasting impression right out the gate: bloated. UberStudent ran slugish and had way too many packages. I think optimization and simplification is the best course of action for the people working on Uber.
Now the hardware I was running it on isn't the best so I figured I'd give their LXDE version a try. LXDE is a light-weight window manager for X sever. It generates the little boxes that applications run in and handles most of the actual graphical user Interface (GUI). LXDE is a lot like it's peers XFCE and GNOME. GNOME is the default window manager for a Ubuntu install. This CD and not DVD sized operating system needs some work in the visuals department. Although the applications/panel menu well thought out and I like the categories the application shortcuts are organized into, the over all visual feel of the system feels incomplete. It lacks the elegance of a distrobution like Linux Mint that also runs a mod version of the Ubuntu/Debian kore and comes in I think four total reconfigurations. These configurations include: KDE, GNOME, FLUXBOX, and I think a bare Debian spins as well.
UberStudent Linux 1.0
Visuals: 3
Packages: 8 (but a little on the bloated side)
Install: 2
Usability: 3
Over All: FAIL
Alternative Suggestions:
-Linux Mint
Friday, February 25, 2011
UberStudent Linux
UberStudent The Linux Distro for Learners
So I sorta stumbled this distribution of Linux called UberStudent. It Promising a ton out of the box made me think, I'd give it a try. With an up coming Netbook Edition thats mostly going to be run in the cloud I wanted to know how much they might be planing to run out of the cloud.
One thing I would like to point out is that the mirrors and torrents for this live image where bunk. I don't know if thats in efforts to try and sell pre-burnt copies or what but it's annoying.
My install is going quite well The graphical installer in really nice. I personally like the texted based installers with networking or at least the option. But this installer looks pretty slick and feels comfortable. I guess you could boot it into the console and exsacute the proper commands to install all the packages off the disk after partitioning the drive and run an apt-get update. Unless your running on some extra slow hardware your not going to need to do that and your going to do just fine with the graphical installer.
Now I'm installing this across the entire drive but anyone could easily run this or any current Ubuntu based livedisk and shrink the existing partition say, a windows partition and install Uber at the end of the disk on a separate partition. When installing a windows / Linux dual boot system your going to need a boot loader so you can pick to run either operating system at startup. The default is the grub boot loader in most modern Linux systems. UberStudent will install a boot loader when installing after an preexisting partition. Now the easy way to do this is to install Linux after Windows or you'll have hard times replacing the windows MBR that you will have installed over the Grub. Simply install windows first then Linux almost always.
UberStudent is a "BIG OS". I think it sets up to be something close to 3x the normal install size of just Ubuntu. So good thing the install process GUI is pretty, You'll be looking at the install screen for a long time....
More in a little while when this thing is done...
So I sorta stumbled this distribution of Linux called UberStudent. It Promising a ton out of the box made me think, I'd give it a try. With an up coming Netbook Edition thats mostly going to be run in the cloud I wanted to know how much they might be planing to run out of the cloud.
One thing I would like to point out is that the mirrors and torrents for this live image where bunk. I don't know if thats in efforts to try and sell pre-burnt copies or what but it's annoying.
My install is going quite well The graphical installer in really nice. I personally like the texted based installers with networking or at least the option. But this installer looks pretty slick and feels comfortable. I guess you could boot it into the console and exsacute the proper commands to install all the packages off the disk after partitioning the drive and run an apt-get update. Unless your running on some extra slow hardware your not going to need to do that and your going to do just fine with the graphical installer.
Now I'm installing this across the entire drive but anyone could easily run this or any current Ubuntu based livedisk and shrink the existing partition say, a windows partition and install Uber at the end of the disk on a separate partition. When installing a windows / Linux dual boot system your going to need a boot loader so you can pick to run either operating system at startup. The default is the grub boot loader in most modern Linux systems. UberStudent will install a boot loader when installing after an preexisting partition. Now the easy way to do this is to install Linux after Windows or you'll have hard times replacing the windows MBR that you will have installed over the Grub. Simply install windows first then Linux almost always.
UberStudent is a "BIG OS". I think it sets up to be something close to 3x the normal install size of just Ubuntu. So good thing the install process GUI is pretty, You'll be looking at the install screen for a long time....
*Start the installer directly
-boots into a graphical installer
More in a little while when this thing is done...
Friday, January 14, 2011
Laptop powers down after a couple seconds of running?
Has your laptop been powering down after a couple seconds of running?
When you go to turn it back on did it take pressing the power button twice?
Today we are going to cover overheating issues in laptop computers.
Over heating.....
It's an issue that a lot of "captain save a laptop" sort of Techs like myself have to deal with, ALL THE TIME. So we are going to go over the process of how to avoid paying someone like myself a truck load of money to diagnose and treat your poor aging laptop.
This post will be useful for both home users and business owners because a CPU fan turning into a binary crunching dust devil is a problem everyone with aging hardware faces at some point. Some hardware configurations are more notorious for this then others. Take the eMachine M series for example. I've seen this machine suffer from this exact problem time and time again. The model I've seen it in most is the eMachine M5405. The M5405 has a intake fan that pulls cool air off the surface of the table it is sitting on, through a cooling duct/heat sink, into an exhaust fan that sits on top of the CPU. I understand the intentions here, but what poor implementation.
*eMachine thought to conserve space they could use one centralized duct/heat sink
system and in turn give the laptop a smaller design.
In most cases of a older laptop/notebook form factors over heating it's a CPU fan clogged with dust, hair, and other particles of it's surrounding environment. The first step to resolving this issue is to call the manufacture and some times the store that you bought the machine from and inquire about it warranty. Because this fix often times takes opening the laptop's actual case to fix and it would be better if the manufacturer's techs do that.
Step one: Inquire about warranty with manufacturer and retail store.
*(Because often times stores like best buy offer extended protection
plans they may cover the costs of the repair or provide
new hardware so they can resale your machine
as "refurbished".)
Step two: Research people's experiences with the same product.
*(A good first start is Google, using google they often will pull up other
sites forms and comment postings on issues. To get the best results
try to be as descriptive as possible without getting too wordy.
Example: "eMachine M5405 shuts down at boot FIX")
Step three: If the results of step two turn out to be what we suspected
(an over heating CPU). Then go ahead and research (using Google)
the proper case opening process for your particular hardware.
*(Sites like: Tom's Hardware often times have sections in their form for
Case removal etc.)
Step four: Before turning your first screw make sure you are protecting yourself and
your hardware by using the correct tools:
Anti-static strap
Anti Static Wrist Strap With Grounding Wire
Grounding mat
12-Inch x 21.5-Inch Anti-Static Grounding Pad
Electronic tool kit
55-Piece Computer Tool Kit with Black Case
*(Now Some people may argue that these tools aren't entirely
necessary but let me remind you of the REAL danger's that
come along with ESD By linking you to the Wikipedia
Page about Electrostatic Discharge.)
Step five: Review "Step three" and implement!
*(Use Cation and make sure your grounded!)
*(Another tip is when I remove screws I use small cups labeled
with numbers to keep track of what screws belong in each
hole, as well as keep things from rolling off the table.)
Step six: Reassemble, cross fingers, boot!
The next time I get a laptop in the shop with this issue I'll make a video, with the owner's permission. Until then good luck and be sure to comment/follow.
~C.VonHoogenstyn
When you go to turn it back on did it take pressing the power button twice?
Today we are going to cover overheating issues in laptop computers.
Over heating.....
It's an issue that a lot of "captain save a laptop" sort of Techs like myself have to deal with, ALL THE TIME. So we are going to go over the process of how to avoid paying someone like myself a truck load of money to diagnose and treat your poor aging laptop.
This post will be useful for both home users and business owners because a CPU fan turning into a binary crunching dust devil is a problem everyone with aging hardware faces at some point. Some hardware configurations are more notorious for this then others. Take the eMachine M series for example. I've seen this machine suffer from this exact problem time and time again. The model I've seen it in most is the eMachine M5405. The M5405 has a intake fan that pulls cool air off the surface of the table it is sitting on, through a cooling duct/heat sink, into an exhaust fan that sits on top of the CPU. I understand the intentions here, but what poor implementation.
*eMachine thought to conserve space they could use one centralized duct/heat sink
system and in turn give the laptop a smaller design.
In most cases of a older laptop/notebook form factors over heating it's a CPU fan clogged with dust, hair, and other particles of it's surrounding environment. The first step to resolving this issue is to call the manufacture and some times the store that you bought the machine from and inquire about it warranty. Because this fix often times takes opening the laptop's actual case to fix and it would be better if the manufacturer's techs do that.
Step one: Inquire about warranty with manufacturer and retail store.
*(Because often times stores like best buy offer extended protection
plans they may cover the costs of the repair or provide
new hardware so they can resale your machine
as "refurbished".)
Step two: Research people's experiences with the same product.
*(A good first start is Google, using google they often will pull up other
sites forms and comment postings on issues. To get the best results
try to be as descriptive as possible without getting too wordy.
Example: "eMachine M5405 shuts down at boot FIX")
Step three: If the results of step two turn out to be what we suspected
(an over heating CPU). Then go ahead and research (using Google)
the proper case opening process for your particular hardware.
*(Sites like: Tom's Hardware often times have sections in their form for
Case removal etc.)
Step four: Before turning your first screw make sure you are protecting yourself and
your hardware by using the correct tools:
Anti-static strap
Anti Static Wrist Strap With Grounding WireGrounding mat
12-Inch x 21.5-Inch Anti-Static Grounding Pad Electronic tool kit
55-Piece Computer Tool Kit with Black Case*(Now Some people may argue that these tools aren't entirely
necessary but let me remind you of the REAL danger's that
come along with ESD By linking you to the Wikipedia
Page about Electrostatic Discharge.)
Step five: Review "Step three" and implement!
*(Use Cation and make sure your grounded!)
*(Another tip is when I remove screws I use small cups labeled
with numbers to keep track of what screws belong in each
hole, as well as keep things from rolling off the table.)
Step six: Reassemble, cross fingers, boot!
The next time I get a laptop in the shop with this issue I'll make a video, with the owner's permission. Until then good luck and be sure to comment/follow.
~C.VonHoogenstyn
Friday, January 7, 2011
How To Sync Google Calendar With Mozilla Sunbird (calDAV)
Syncing Google Calendar with Mozilla Sunbird using calDAV
So this is a real simple one and Google offers a simple tutorial on how to do it so....
I'm copying and pasting their directions with a video of me doing it on one my machine. Thanks Google!
To set up CalDAV support for Google Calendar in Mozilla Sunbird, follow these steps:
~C.VonHoogenstyn
So this is a real simple one and Google offers a simple tutorial on how to do it so....
I'm copying and pasting their directions with a video of me doing it on one my machine. Thanks Google!
To set up CalDAV support for Google Calendar in Mozilla Sunbird, follow these steps:
- Open the Sunbird application and select File > New Calendar.
- Select On the Network and click Next.
- Select the CalDAV format option.
- In the Location field, enter [ https://www.google.com/calendar/dav/ [ your Google Calendar ID ] /events ] and click Next. Your Google Calendar ID for your primary calendar is just your email address, but for all other calendars the Calendar ID will be in the form of [ long string of characters]@group.calendar.google.com. You can get the Calendar ID by clicking the down arrow next to your calendar at calendar.google.com and selecting 'Calendar Settings'.
Be sure to use https in your URL, as an http address will not work. - Enter a name and select a color for your calendar.
- In the pop-up screen, enter the following information: Username: This is the complete email address you use with Google Calendar (including the part after the @ sign). If you're using Google Apps, be sure to enter your Google Apps email address.
Password: This is the password you use to sign in to Google Calendar - Click OK.
~C.VonHoogenstyn
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)